And Now.. A Tribute to Russell and Julie (Oh, and That David Bloke Too...)

This. Is. GOLD!  There are not one, but TWO videos floating around in celebration of the RTD/David Tennant years of Doctor Who (at least, that's what I think they are).  Honestly, I have no idea why these were just found now, but it brought a little tear to my eye as I laughed by butt off at the sheer awesomeness of it.

First, the cast and crew of... well, all of the 2009 Specials singing to "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers (no spoilers, really. Unless you can somehow divine what the hell is even going on here. Um... no - you really can't. Random Graeme Harper spotting!)



And this is David Tennant, Catherine Tate and John Barrowman singing "The Ballad of Russell and Julie." Just - enjoy.



I have a feeling this was all the skinny Scottish fellow's idea.

Happy Birthday Doctor Eleven!

Hey y'all - it's Matt Smith's birthday!



This calls for some fun video linkage!



Happy, Happy Birthday to our favorite bow-tie-, Stetson- and fez-wearing Doctor!

I'm Famous!

Well, I'm in the Utah Library Association October newsletter, at least.  Check it out!

Click to Embiggen

Here's the link to the entire October issue, but I figured people would just want to see our article instead of having to search until page 11 for it.  All I can say is that I'm glad the picture they used is from the first day we were in the country.  We all look fresh and happy (and like our clothes had been washed in a washer rather than a sink in our hotel/dorm/thingie).

And because I promised I'd post them and I haven't gotten to it yet, here are some pics of some of the Serbian night life.

Yes, that's Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper walking down the street with some Monty Python guys.  I wish I'd had my camera more at-the-ready, but I was in the middle of having dinner and was lucky I got the backs of them.

Show Me Something Real

I'm in a posting mood today.  This probably won't have anything substantial to it and I reserve my right as a blogger to have posts where I just ramble.

First off - this is funny.  Even for people like myself that know almost nothing about Star Trek (Captain Kirk, Captain Picard, Spock, Data, the Enterprise, The Final Frontier... yup, that's about all of it) will enjoy the joke.



Today I ended up working with one of my classmates and I am very grateful I did.  I am having the hardest time with this capstone thing for my end-of-master's-program wrap-up.  The professor keeps harping about applying theory to what we've learned in this program.  Only problem is that we talked about theory in the first semester and then it was never heard from again.  And with good reason - in the real world, there's no such thing as "theory." Either something works or it doesn't and no amount of academic bull-s****ing will make it work (just ask the Soviet Union. Oh wait...).  In my entire academic career, I have treated theory as something nice to look at and something that makes you feel important when someone else says it but when I say it, I sound like a pretentious little snot-nosed student that no one will ever take seriously.  So, instead of spouting off a bunch of researchers' BS, I just call it like I see it (using my own terms and my own experiences) and it works out just fine.  People know I'm being honest and real with them and they know that I have internalized what I was supposed to learn rather than who supposedly thought of it first.

So back to work tonight - my classmate said that he really didn't understand the whole thing about "theory" because we never covered it (which is good to hear because I was freaking out when I heard we were all of a sudden expected to know what it was) and besides, this is just a one-credit class and once it's over, we've passed everything and we can go get awesome librarian jobs and do something real in the world.

(hey, I like that term - "do something real."  Sound much more proactive that just sitting around "doing good." Because "real" and "good" are not mutually exclusive.  Hmm... I'm going to hang on to that one for a while).

Anyway, theory be damned - I know I learned something significant (and real) in this program.  Whether or not I can spout off a bunch of pretentious, pipe-smoking professors who wrote papers about the concepts is another story (and, really, I'm never going to have a five-year-old ask me who came up with the theory of library usage.  More likely they'll be asking for an Elephant and Piggie book).

It's A Nice Day to Start Again

Yeah, it's a week late, but cut me a break. I've been out of the country! But I now have my review of "The Wedding of River Song." Spoilers beneath the every-so-appropriate video.



Here's a funny story about how I came to view "The Wedding of River Song" - so the last two weeks, I was in Serbia on a study-abroad trip.  Saturday we were scheduled to have an outing - go sightseeing and do some fun things in Belgrade. Until the American Embassy learned of a big protest/march scheduled for Saturday.  Since they were sponsoring us and providing our transportation in and out of Belgrade, they canceled the outing amid fears that the protest could get violent (evidently, there was precedent for this sort of thing).  So, Saturday we were left to our own devices.  We did get to go to the Avala TV Tower and up to the observation deck, so that was pretty cool.  But we all came back to our hotel/dorm and I got "The Wedding of River Song" online and watched it because, hey, now I had time for that sort of thing.  I suppose I could have written my review then - but to be honest, I wanted to wait.

And now - here are my thoughts on both the finale and the whole of Series 6 -

Reviewing this is strange because I usually review "Doctor Who" without having heard or read others' reviews of it.  But I did listen to Radio Free Skaro's and Traveling the Vortex's thoughts on it.  I don't think that hurt my opinion because - to be honest - I don't know what my opinion of this episode is.  I liked the simultaneous-history-with-time-degrading concept and I liked that the eye-patches were a device used to remember the Silence.  The Live Chess thing was hilarious.  The giant "Area 52" pyramid was cool too.  But as I'm sitting here rewatching this episode - most of this is largely forgettable.  And that's sad for me to say because I've enjoyed the twist-turny, wibbly-wobbly, spacey-wacey stuff that Moffat comes up with.  But this one... was a little flat.  I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed "The Wedding of River Song" well-enough  There was just enough wacky Steven Moffat stuff going on to make the story fun and even gloss over the fact that there is just so much that is left unanswered (WHY DID THE TARDIS EXPLODE AT THE END OF SERIES FIVE?? ... ahem... Also - why do the Silence want the Doctor dead in the first place?)

(Also - when they mentioned the Tessalecta in the pre-credit recap, I figured the Doctor that got shot by the astronaut was a Tessalecta. Which means that Ganger two-parter last spring was just to set up the fake Amy and nothing else.  Which means they wasted a perfectly good two-part slot on that tripe. And that's just sad).

But can I get a big round of Badass Rory and Amy Pond Appreciation?  First, you've got Rory leaving his Eye-Drive on so he can fight the Silence - and then Amy comes in with machine gun blazing. AND - Amy leaves Patchy to the mercy of the Silence.  And I stood up and cheered. Because Patchy is one of those villains that you just want to see bite it in the end. (YAY PONDS!)

But I did like River's little speech about how the universe didn't want the Doctor to die (even I don't completely understand it's context within the story).  Because I hated those moments when the Doctor was all mopey because he'd screwed up people's lives and he'd decided the world was better off without him.  I certainly hope that we are done with emo!Doctor and he can go back to having whimsical adventures without worrying about his companions so much.  If anything, the fact that River, Amy and Rory found the Doctor in the alternate timeline proves that the Doctor makes his companions better.  Hell, even the end of "Closing Time" proved that.  And the Doctor needs to recognize that and take credit for it, already!

Overall opinion of Series 6 - Wish there'd been more resolution and less asking of new questions.  Wish "The Rebel Flesh" had been one episode (boy, how do I wish that).  Wish there'd been less filler - or that they'd just gone with it being one whole season of filler.  I would seriously be okay with that.  But I also wish that there had been more about the Silence story arc throughout the season, especially because when the season did address it, it came out of left field and I had to remember what that was all about.

Let me address the filler while I'm thinking about it - when your "filler" episodes include stuff like "The Doctor's Wife," "The Girl Who Waited" and "Closing Time," why even bother with the season-long story arc at all?

I think they tried to blend one-off episodes with a season long story arc and it kind of, sort of, maybe didn't work out that well. The one-offs don't add to the story arc and the story arc gets diluted from week to week so that gets in the way of resolving everything that needs resolving.  I think they either need to do one-off episodes or really commit to a story arc - not try to do both.

Some Words on the Tribute to Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart): Whoever decided to make the Brig's death a major plot point in this story is a genius (bet you a cookie it was Moffat).  I wonder if, prior to Courtney's death, there was something else written there to convince the Doctor to go to Lake Powell Silencio and Moffat just changed it to include the Brigadier instead.  Or maybe that scene hadn't been written and he just took the opportunity to pay tribute to a wonderful character and actor.  However it came about, I'm glad that it turned out the way that it did and it was a fitting way to pay in-universe tribute to the Brig.

"Silence Will Fall When the Question Is Asked" - So, can I safely assume that this is all setting up for the big-time 50th Anniversary special in 2013?  I mean, I'm okay with that - but I wish I knew that before thinking that the finale would be... well... final.  That everything would be wrapped up and everyone would be happy (ha - that's a good one!)

After careful consideration (and just some good knee-jerk reactions) this is how I rank the individual stories of Series 6 (not counting "A Christmas Carol")

1. The Girl Who Waited
2. The Doctor's Wife
3. The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon
4. Closing Time
5. A Good Man Goes to War/Let's Kill Hitler (I think that was meant as a two-parter)
6. The Wedding of River Song
7. Night Terrors
8. The God Complex
9. The Curse of the Black Spot
10. The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People

Bottom Line: Yeah... I don't know what the Bottom Line is here. I'm just as confused as the next geek.
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Who's up for Frontios?

I'm Back!

What I would have given for those red shoes 48 hours ago.

I made it home, folks.  After three countries, six flights, two weeks, one delayed flight (but no luggage lost - thank goodness), my trip to Serbia is complete.  And was it ever an Earn Your Happy Ending.

The library programming itself was great.  We did a lot of work with kids and teens, which I expected.  What I did NOT expect was how discombobulated everything was on the administrative front.  I heard the phrase "Be flexible" so many times during this trip that "Flexible" is the new dirty F-word (and you shall not see it written out for the duration of this post).  There was just zero communication between us, our professors, officials at the embassy and the folks in charge of the conference.

Don't get me wrong - once we got into our discussions and library tours and programming with the kids, everything was fantastic.  Especially when none of my professors were around - I could "cut loose" and be myself with the kids and my classmates and have fun while also achieving my objective.  But when either of my professors were there, they made me nervous.  It didn't help that during a presentation to some high school students, one of the professors - rather obnoxiously, I thought - kept yelling from the back of the room for me to speak up.  That threw me off so bad and I wound up shouting my whole presentation and it was not very good.  Please note - the time to give constructive criticism to someone is NOT in the middle of their actual presentation.  Do it before or after. Don't embarrass them in front of their audience.  Whatever failings you've perceived in the speaker are automatically doubled and it ruins the entire thing (and the problem might not have been that big of a deal to begin with - but now you've totally flushed it down the crapper).  I count my blessings that I had other people presenting with me and they could back me up when I lost my thread.

But Serbian teens are a lot of fun.  One memorable thing happened when we actually visited a high school in Belgrade.  We had a wonderful discussion about libraries and studying when one of the boys asked us all what book mad us angry.  I said "Twilight" - prefacing my answer with the concern that I would make some enemies.  On the contrary - I got a rousing applause from the group.  Not just the boys, either - some of the girls joined in the clapping.  From there we had a short discussion of why they didn't like "Twilight" either and their answers were mine as well - it's poorly written and it's a bad portrayal of what a romantic relationship should be.  It did my heart good to see that, even half a world away, there were people who got it.

We did a lot of work with American Corners, which is an organization that US embassies throughout the world sponsor as an outreach and education center where people can come and learn English by reading books and watching movies in English.  They also get Americans to come visit and do presentations about American culture and talk to the people.  It's a fantastic program and I wish I'd known more about it before I got to Serbia.

One workshop we did with American Corners was a discussion with some children and teen librarians from a public library.  At first, my classmates wanted to be all deferential and insist we be the students and the professionals teach us - but the professionals were there to learn.  It was that point I realized something (well, I'd thought about it before, but this was the first time I really got it) - a country like Serbia is still trying to figure out a lot of things.  Good grief - it was only relatively recently they figured out that communism is a really bad joke.  They have to look to other countries as examples of how to do this whole democracy-republic-free market-capitalism-thing when much of their population is still looking for their free chunk of stale bread (trust me - that bread done been ate a looooong time ago. [poor grammar intended]).  So, where are they looking?  The European Union is one place they look to, which makes sense since they are on the same continent.  But they also look US - and that's just what we do.  When we have the resources and the know-how, we help people help themselves.  Whether that's in education or humanitarian aid or throwing off an asshole dictator.  Even countries that were once our enemies, once we're done fighting, we help rebuild.

I know a fair few will read that and scream at me for it (because it's sooo vogue to criticize America, even when it does something good).  To you who scream and harp, I say that you weren't there and you didn't talk to these people and you didn't see how much they admire us for the things we do have.  Good grief - when the American Corner said they would be getting ten Kindles for people to check out, the Serbian people in the audience were so happy to hear they would have access to something like that.  One girl said it best when she said "We have TV - we see your culture."  Serbia is by no means the poorest country in the world, but they don't have all the technology and the things that we do.  But they know of those things and they want them for themselves.  And this is not a bad thing.  One presentation at the conference at the University of Belgrade suggested that they wanted to be listed among the top colleges in the world for technology along with the likes of MIT and UC-Berkeley.  These people have goals - and they are asking for our help in achieving them.  The fact that I spent the last ten days in their country proves that.  Believe me - Serbia was never on my list of places to see before I die.

Back to our workshop at American Corners: Basically, these librarians wanted us to teach them.

So, I started off by sharing a few things I'd done with my students.  Nothing flashy - just a few examples and ideas to get the conversation rolling.  And boy, did it ever roll.  My classmates and I had gone in thinking we were the ones doing the studying, but we were really the teachers.  Don't get me wrong - I wasn't all "Hey, we're Americans and we're going to change your lives if you listen to us and only us."  But the whole idea behind this meeting (at least, what these librarians were told) was for us to share what we were doing.  They wanted to learn from us - they were there by choice and they were eager to listen to us.  And I was extremely honored and humbled by that.

Second Bottom Line: Despite administrative bungles and total miscommunications between parties, this was an eye-opening and rather fun experience.  I have more stories, but I will save them for another time (because I am still fighting jet lag and a head cold).  Suffice it to say that I feel truly blessed to live in the United States and I am glad that there are people in other countries working to find new ways to improve their way of life and I am glad I could contribute something.

And I am glad to be home.

Programming Note: I did get to watch "The Wedding of River Song" while I was in Belgrade (long story how that happened).  I have not written down my thoughts, but I will soon.  Look for that in the near future.

On My Way!

See you all when I come home!

Just When You Thought Sofa-Man Couldn't Get Any Cuter...

I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought of this, but why pass up such an opportunity? Spoilers for "Closing Time" under the video -



Well, there were people praising "The God Complex" left and right last week for its DEEP AND PHILOSOPHICAL MEANINGS AND WE'RE SO INTELLIGENT FOR NOTICING *insert self-important pipe smoke here*. And that's just fine. Because those same people will be scoffing at how simplistic and naive "Closing Time" is. And that is where I found the charm of this penultimate episode of Series 6.

One thing I love about the Doctor is his desire and ability to take risks. More often than not, they pay off. But there are a few occasions where things go wrong. And suddenly, we have a Doctor who feels the need to drag his companions into this little Time Lord pity-party like he's a thirteen-year-old girl who didn't get asked to the Sweethearts Dance or something. And yes, not everything goes the Doctor's way.

But sometimes, I think we as fans take those failures and amp them up to surpass the Doctor's successes, as though we enjoy watching the Doctor suffer. Or maybe we just feel like jealous of the Doctor and his companions because of all the wonderful adventures they get to go on and any time we can see the Doctor fail, it's just one more notch in our "Well, We Can Feel Better About Ourselves Because You Suck" totem pole (now we sound like those arrogant cheerleaders in high school who have to pick on everyone else in order to feel more important.  Guys - we are better than this).

Thank Gallifrey for Craig Owens and "Closing Time."

Number One - I was happy to see Craig and Sophie back (however briefly Sophie was there).  "The Lodger" is a favorite of mine and I loved how Matt Smith and James Corden played off one another in that story, so I was glad to see James return.

Number Two - It was good to have a Pond break.  Don't get me wrong - I have all the love for Amy and Rory.  But I think the Doctor needed a change from some of the guilt they'd been piling on him.

Number Three - In that vein, Craig had so many wonderful lines in this and his words were probably what the Doctor needs at this point.  After having to break Amy's faith in him (which - why on Earth do people enjoy seeing other people lose faith in whatever they have faith in?  Why is that such a problem to the world at large?  That's another topic for another day, evidently), the Doctor is feeling like dirt.  But a visit to Craig - now, Craig has seen what the Doctor can do.  What Craig knows is this: People were dying when that spaceship was stranded about his flat and the Doctor came along and he was able to stop it.  Granted, Craig helped the Doctor do it (another evidence for the Doctor's need for a companion) - but would Craig have ever had the courage to do it without the Doctor?

Number Four - Two Words: Baby Alfie.  If I could engineer a perfect Team TARDIS, it would be Matt Smith plus a baby (and likely the baby's parents).  Maybe it's because I've become an aunt since this Doctor last encountered a baby, but all those scenes with the Doctor and Alfie were so beautifully done and Matt acted the crap out of those parts.  Add in Papa Craig and that's a match made in the time vortex.

(Side Note: Steven Moffat first introduced the concept of the Doctor "speaking baby."  I've noticed that when other writers take a concept that Moffat introduces and try to write with it, it falls flat.  But Gareth Roberts knocked this one out of the park.  All of the "Speaking Baby" scenes were so much fun and I loved all of it).

Number Five - Only because I know people are going to piss and moan about "Ugh - Craig saved the day with love and how stupid is that," just let me tell you something, Harry Potter: The Doctor has voiced his admiration for the human race and he's also voiced his distaste for the human race.  If there is anything good about this world and the people in it, it's that we have the capacity to care about each other.  My heart broke when I thought Craig was about to become a Cyberman (my first thought was "Oh no! Not Craig!" My second thought was "Oh crap, I'm going to have to sit through another round of 'Pity the Doctor because he screws up everything and everybody' ").  But when little Alfie cried and that gave Craig the strength, the courage, the... whatever... to break out of the Cybermen's emotion-killing-machine-thingy - I cheered out loud!  From a writer's standpoint, the Cybermen are great for contrasting the difference between the cold-hearted and emotionless life of soullessness and the loving and warm life of love.  When you love, it means you have people around who care about you and you have people to care for.  Sure, it sounds sappy and silly, but that's because there's not really a way to make it sound as good as it feels.  I, for one, liked the ending.  Plus, it was a great contrast to the danger that is certainly about to come in the next episode.

Number Six - Because I couldn't fit it in anywhere else: the Cybermen basically took a backseat in this story and just let the emotions play out for the Doctor.  They were used as just an adversary for the Doctor to defeat in his normal fashion to give him one last hurrah before heading off to Lake Powell Silencio.

Number Seven - HOLY COW THE FINALE!  Okay, so people were right about River being in the spacesuit.  BUT - the point of the next episode is NOT to see River kill the Doctor.  The point is to see how he gets out of this one.  Because we all know Matt Smith's coming back for Christmas and next season and the season after that.  I for one and eagerly anticipating the resolution of all of this.

Bottom Line: The Doctor is leaving the safety of the friendship of a companion and about to meet his death.  Why wouldn't he want to bask in that for as long as he can?

Programming Note: I am leaving for a study abroad trip to Serbia tomorrow morning.  Because of this, my review of "The Wedding of River Song" will be delayed until I can get back and watch it.  This means that I have to be extra-vigilant of spoilers, but I can handle it (with any luck, I might be able to find a decent download link and watch the episode on the plane ride home).  The only bad part is that I won't be able to SQUEE with all of you until then :(  But do enjoy yourselves.

Two for the Price of One

This is more or less an inside joke (for those who are inside the Utah-BYU rivalry), but I couldn't think of a video to put with this review. If you get it, great. If not, scroll down for my review of "The God Complex."



I'm sure there's some great and grand underlying Meaning-with-a-Capital-M to "The God Complex" and I'm pretty sure I know what it is (and I'm pretty sure I don't like it).  I'm sure the podcasters will be in full-force tonight and tomorrow morning praising this story for all its subtleties and how masterful Toby Whithouse and Steven Moffat are as writers and only the brainless oafs in Whodom won't be able to get it and aren't we so wonderful and clever and intelligent for understanding the Deeper Meaning they have given us (maybe even throwing in a "Praise Them" as a cocky little in-joke).

Well, count me as a brainless oaf in Whodom because I did not understand that story for one second.

Actually, let me clarify - I understood the ending.  I understood the fact that the Doctor cares about Amy and Rory (maybe Amy more than Rory - if hard-pressed to admit it) and his feelings run deep enough to unceremoniously dump them off in Leadworth after a particularly harrowing adventure (I guess I shouldn't say "unceremoniously."  Sarah Jane got "unceremoniously").  I got that part and I got the emotions they were going for and, for a little while at least, I started to buy into it (the Doctor calling her "Amy Williams" very nearly had the waterworks going - because the day she becomes "Amy Williams" is the day that she grows up.  By extension, I'll have to grow up. And won't that just suck?)

Then the "Next Time" trailer popped up and I was all - Oh that's the Craig guy from "The Lodger!"

Honestly, "The God Complex" felt like two stories crammed into one.  At one point, I threw down my pen from taking notes and just said "I don't get it!"  I knew we were meant to care about these people lost in this labyrinth-spaceship-thing (if Rita's cue-the-dramatic-music-super-slo-mo death was any indication) but I didn't.  Not as much as I was meant to, I think.  I almost think this story would have been better served as a two-parter - but I'm not sure how it would work.  I mean, there's only so much you can do with running through an old hotel and finding scary things in the rooms.

I wanted to care about this story - I really, really did.  And the concept was a good one - what is more scary than losing your faith in whatever you have faith in?  I do like that the Doctor pointed out that faith doesn't necessarily mean religious faith (so you can all stop screaming at us already) - it could mean faith in luck or in yourself or whatever.  It made the story work on that level - I just wish they would have spent more time on that and less time on "Oooh - lookit us - it's "Doctor Who" and we're being scary again for the sake of being scary - run behind the couch kiddles! ha ha! No, really - go hide behind the couch...."  It worked once or twice, but now it's getting old.

...sigh... I truly, truly hate to be one of Those People who find fault with so many things and whines about it all.  And the sad thing is that I get what they were trying to do with this story - but it fell a little flat for me.  I need to care about the characters, for a start.  And don't give me the whole "Well, they only have these characters here for one story and you have to get rid of them" because the Doctor Who writers have done that time and again and it's been credible.  Even as recently as "Night Terrors" - I truly cared about little George and his dad.  I really could care less about Howie and Rita (even if she is clever) and that one pointy-eared guy that looked like he wandered off the set of "The Grinch."

I dunno... maybe on a rewatch I'll get it better, but right now, I'm kind of left out in the cold with this.

Bottom Line: Make "The Rebel Flesh" a one-episode story and "The God Complex" a two-parter and maybe you'd have something worth discussing.  For now, I'm just "meh..."

Parenting: You're Doing it Right (plus, the Zoobie Tweak of the Day)

Because the Utes have moved up to the Pac-12 and BYU has gone to the corner to cry like a bunch of whiny babies independent, the traditional rivalry game is now held in September.  Bear with me, this will take some getting used to.

In honor of this event, I bring you 2-year-old Mady whom I have never met personally but I want to give her parents an award for this:

In two years, this will be my niece.  Guarantee it.

And because I know it will tweak the BYU fans (and I delight in sending their little Zoobie heads a-spinning), here's is President Monson singing "Utah Man."



Yup, it's rivalry weekend.  Win or lose, you've gotta love it.

Updates and Stuff

Felt like updating today.  It's my blog and I do what I want with it.

- I think I mentioned this before, but I'm too lazy to go back and see for sure.  In a couple of weeks, I'm on my way to Serbia for study-abroad!  It's only for ten days, so it's not like I'm leaving forever.  But I'm still a bit nervous because this is the first time I've traveled outside of the U.S.  I am lucky in that there are people going with me that have been to Europe before and know the ins and outs of travel and I'm sure once I get there I will get settled-in nicely and everything will be great.  It's just the anticipation and preparation for a trip like this that's stressful - you know, making sure you have everything you'll need (most of that is just guessing what to take with me because we haven't got many details about the itinerary or schedule, so I'm sure that I'll get there and wish I had brought along X, Y or Z.  But that's neither here nor there).

- I haven't mentioned much about school this semester, but I am in this really neat Children's Library Services class!  Most of the class requirements entails reading children's books (picture books and novels) and giving short reviews of each one.  I had read some of them before this class, but some I had not.  But I will be posting my short reviews on cj's bookshelf later (I've posted at least one review of a novel from this class there already).  The rest of the class involves coming up with a puppet show and doing a read-aloud as though we were reading to kids.  This is going to be goooooood. :)

- Which reminds me that I never posted pictures of my Fancy Nancy adventure this summer.  During my practicum, I helped out with the "France with Fancy Nancy" program at the West Jordan Library.  And it was a BLAST!

If you don't know, Fancy Nancy is a girl from a series of picture books by Jane O'Connor.  Nancy LOVES anything that's fancy - words, clothes, food, parties, you name it.  So, this party was all about the fancy!

I read "Fancy Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words" to the group and that was fun.  But the REAL fun started when...

I let the kids dress me up as Fancy Nancy!  We just had some cute accessories in the library closet and we set them out and I acted like a giant doll for them to dress up.  Now, I would not do this in any other setting, but because it was part of the library program, I was okay with it.  And the kids had fun with it (I even had a few of them ask for a picture with me, which was a heart-warming moment).  That is the secret of being a children's librarian - you leave you dignity at the door.

- These days, when I'm not at work or doing school things, I am just enjoying my little niece.  In the two months since she was born, she's grown a lot.  But she's even more cute for it.

My sister texted me this picture the day of the first University of Utah football game and it made my freaking day (it was kind of a crappy day anyway).  Some background info - I made the blanket for her and I gave her the Ute onesie, so it was the best thing I could have seen.  I haven't been able to see her in person very much because of work and what-have-you, so I just enjoy the pictures my sister sends me or posts on Facebook.  And I just love this kid!  It's a weird thing, being an aunt, but I love every minute of it.

What It Means To Remember

In 1990, Lois Lowry wrote "Number the Stars," a historical fiction novel about two girls living in 1930s Denmark on the brink of the Holocaust. In this story, one girl comes from a Jewish family and the other girl and her family is helping them escape the Nazis. Though this is a fiction, it is very much steeped in history in a way that children as young as 8 or 9 can understand the horrible things that happened to Jewish people during that time.

"Number the Stars" won the Newbery Award that year. During one of Lowry's speaking engagements, she says that a woman came up to her and asked why people wrote about the Holocaust and World War II. It was so long ago, why do we need to revisit these horrible events in history? What does it have to do with us?

Partially as a response to this woman's comments, Lois Lowry wrote "The Giver." This book is about a society that chooses to forget. They forget about war and fear and pain. They have everything decided for them and they are spared any hard or difficult thing. But at the same time, they also give up the joys and delights of life. There is no color or weather or differences or choices in this world - nothing to give variety to existence.

I bring this up because it has been ten years since September 11, 2001. Some people may think that it's time to move on. Sure, recognize this day and that it happened, but don't really make a big deal out of it. Because it's easier to forget such a horrible thing happened.

Yeah, in some ways it would be easier to forget. Just treat this day like any other day to sit in front of the TV and enjoy the opening weekend of the football season. Eat chips and drink soda and yell at the players and referees who screw up three or four states away because in the long run, it doesn't mean anything.

But some of us just don't want to forget.

To their credit (and who would expect any less?), the NFL is doing a lot of memorials and there are some good ads from companies to commemorate this day. I'm sure there will come a point where these are unnecessary and it won't be as big of a deal to remember and rehash that horrible day.

But I am glad that it hasn't happened yet.

I still remember vividly where I was when I learned of the attacks. I was in high school and heading to my biology class. I got a late start that morning, so I didn't get a chance to see the news or listen to the radio, so I had no idea that anything was wrong. We were supposed to have a test in biology that day, but our teacher had the news coverage on when we walked in and there was no way any of us could concentrate on something as silly as a biology test.

Now it's ten years later. In that time, I've been to four years of college, 18 months on an LDS mission and one semester away from my master's degree. I have a little niece and a handful of cousins that have been born since September 2001. I wonder if they will ever understand the significance of 9/11 - how scary that was, even for those of us who were on the other side of the country that day. I've never been to New York, but it's still an emotional thing for me to think about. Because terrorist attacks are things that happen in other places far away from me. They happen in countries that aren't as safe as mine. I don't have to worry about evil people who hate me and want to kill me because of my religion or my race or where I was born or where my parents were born. But to see something like that happen in the United States - a place where I have felt safe and secure my entire life - it rattled me. And I don't like being rattled.

I don't know anyone personally who lost someone in these attacks, but I understand and I feel the loss just as much as if it was one of my parents or my siblings or my friends. I am supremely grateful to the firefighters, police officers, military and just plain ordinary people who stepped up that day and in the days since to keep this country and its citizens safe and free.

When I see my little niece giggle or when I get to play with my little cousins, I often think about the world they get to grow up in. It's getting increasingly dangerous, but it's also getting increasingly safe and people are becoming better. Here's what I mean by that: in the Doctor Who story "Genesis of the Daleks," there is a memorable scene where the Doctor has a chance to prevent the creation of his greatest enemies, the Daleks. The Daleks are the supreme evil in the universe and the Doctor has been sent back in time to destroy them before they can become the destructive force that so many people fear. The Doctor has this moment which has become known as the famous "Have I the Right?" moment. He wonders if he has the right to completely destroy the Daleks - even knowing the horrible things they will do. One line that I think gets overlooked is the one where the Doctor says that people will ally themselves against the Daleks and good people will do great things because they choose to fight the Daleks. This scene is not entirely about averting genocide as it is about the contrast of good and evil - the more evil there is in the world, the more good stands out against it.

That, I think, is the greatest lesson to learn from 9/11 - Evil exists in the world, but good will stand against it and that is what's worth celebrating.

It's certainly worth remembering.

It's Not Rocket Science. Just Quantum Physics

Oh gosh, I've been catching up on my writing and blogging all day today.  I hope I can do this the justice it deserves.  Review of "The Girl Who Waited" - Spoilers ahoy!



I honestly could not think of a good video to act as a spoiler cut for this review. So, I went with the song that's been stuck in my head all day. Somehow, I feel that it's appropriate (if you want the music video-type version with Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson performing - and a cute dedication at the end - go here).

This will probably be a shorter review than you're used to seeing from me, but I'm actually stunned by this one.  The last little while, "Doctor Who" has been so focused on plot lines and humongous reveals.  I'm not upset about this at all - I enjoy the wild and crazy rides and all the guessing and theorizing and avoiding spoilers and the eternal cursing of Steven Moffat's name (good naturedly, of course).

But after watching "The Girl Who Waited," I realized that I've missed the character development.  I've missed the deeper relationships and the consequences companions face when they travel with the Doctor.

I figured this episode would be Amy's time to shine and I was not disappointed in the least.  Even though it was Old!Amy who saved the day and Young!Amy won't ever remember that - I think it still speaks to Amy's character that, in an alternate timeline she was able to survive and fight for 36 years.  She has that potential and the ability to equal and possibly exceed the awesomeness that we've come to appreciate from Rory the Roman.

Another thing I thought of while watching this episode is that this could be an insight to how the Doctor may view his past selves.  There has been talk ad nauseum about a possible multi-Doctor story for the 50th anniversary in 2013 - and Traveling the Vortex did a whole big run of classic multi-Doctor story reviews right before the season started up again - and it's got me to thinking how does the Doctor feel about meeting his past self?  Usually he has some snarky remark to make about his dress sense or how he went about doing things back in the day.  But then that got me thinking - how would I feel about meeting a past version of myself - what would I say about myself if I met me from middle school?  How about the version of me that was a freshman in college?  What would I say?  Would I do anything to change how my life turned out?

Something important to think about, wouldn't you say?

Of course, the emotional sap in me definitely surfaced in the scene where Old!Amy and Young!Amy are talking about Rory and that they would bend time and space for him.  Though I've grumbled in the past about how we get that Amy and Rory love each other, they're married, they've got a kid (sort of) and we get it already so would you please stop killing one or the other off to showcase it - this was that idea done right.  It wasn't just a cheap way to score drama points - it was sincere and heartfelt and I don't think it was overdone here at all.

A few loose ends -
- For such an awesome episode, there were surprisingly few memorable one-liners - the only one I could think of ended up being the subject line, so there you go.
- I guess this could be the Doctor-lite episode, though the Doctor's presence was certainly everywhere.  The Doctor didn't show up in many of the scenes in the Apalapucia quarantine facility - he was mostly in the TARDIS.  The whole point of Doctor-lite is so the production team can have some of the cast in one place and the rest in another and they can film more than one episode at once.  This is a new way of doing it that doesn't set "Love & Monsters" alarm bells ringing and it still feels like an episode of "Doctor Who"
- I will probably never look at the meaning of the word "kindness" the same way ever again.
- How cool is the name "Apalapucia"? Had to look it up on the TARDIS Wiki to know how to spell it, though.
- The bigger story arc of this season was never actually mentioned or even alluded to in this entire episode, making this a 100% stand-alone story (the only one of Series 6 thus far, if I'm not mistaken).

As far as I'm concerned, "The Girl Who Waited" and "The Doctor's Wife" are tied right now for best episode of Series 6.  And they both deal with relationships between the main characters.  This is not a coincidence.  This does NOT mean I don't like the plotlines and story arc in "Doctor Who" and I really don't relish the idea of there being this kind of sentimental story every week.  But every once in a while is good - just to change things up a bit.

Bottom Line - "A Girl Who Waited" gave Amy some much-needed character depth and showed Amy and Rory's relationship more than we've seen before.  That can never be a bad thing.

Mom - Can You Leave the Light On?

Spoilers for "Night Terrors"



When I was a kid, there was one movie that was sure to send me diving behind the sofa (actually, since our TV room was in the basement, I would run halfway up the stairs and hide there).  I was scared-to-freaking-death of "E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial."  Laugh if you must, but when you see that weird little alien staring back at you from the midst of all those stuffed animals, it's enough to make a four-year-old sleep with the light on (as I did for years - STOP LAUGHING!)

I do not do scary movies very well.  I don't do haunted houses and there are times that I just cannot watch the news.  I can handle some creepy things, but out-and-out, wet-your-pants scary - no thank you.  Even when I saw movies like "Titanic" and "Armageddon" I had a hard time sleeping (and I was in middle school for those two, for pity's sake!) I've gotten better as I've gotten older, but there are still times that I have to just turn the light on for an hour or so in the middle of the night.

So, now Doctor Who brings in "Night Terrors" - and I was really nervous about this one.  I actually recorded it last night and didn't watch it until this morning (Sunday morning) because everyone was talking about how scary this would be.  This would be real and proper Doctor Who, complete with the scariest monsters and kids hiding behind the couch.

Turns out, I didn't need to worry.  In one sentence, I would describe "Night Terrors" as sufficiently creepy, but not so much that you're going to have nightmares.  Sure, walking dolls is enough to make anyone wet themselves (that was something else that freaked me out as a kid - though it didn't stop me from playing with the dolls I had back then).  In fact, once you find out that the adorable little boy, George, is the one controlling the monsters, it's okay!

Can I just spend some time on George and the fact that he's a Tenza?  Because that is a really cool concept - an alien that becomes whatever you want/need?  I really hope they get to explore those creatures again, just because there's a lot they could do with that.  I also wonder if they aren't setting something up for the Tenza to come in at the finale.  I don't know what it would be, but I just think it's too cool of a creature to just use in this one episode.

Also - I saw some good Amy moments.  Rory had a few too, but Amy just had a few scenes where she really shone.  They were small moments, but they were pretty good.  Just a few off the top of my head - she realized the "copper" pot was really made of wood, she thought to grab the copper/wooden pot as she and Rory are wandering around the dollhouse, Amy also thought of letting the dolls in the room so she and Rory could get away (with mixed results).  I guess I feel the need to point these out because so many people keep carping about how Amy is just there to fill a mini-skirt and doesn't have any real purpose - which I think is a bunch of crap.  Especially with the preview for next week's episode - like I said last week, Amy is going to have her time to shine.

Some other good things -
- The Doctor can't blame George for being scared of clowns
- Rory: "We're dead - again!"
- Rory's flashlight from "Vampires of Venice" makes an appearance - also, the Doctor makes a face in the mirror like he did in VoV (Did Mark Gatiss write that episode too?  Hold on... oh... nope, he didn't. Forget I brought it up)

All in all, this was a good solid one-off story.  The plot resolved itself well, the acting was good, there were equal parts scary and funny (the whole montage of the Doctor, Amy and Rory knocking doors to find out where the message was coming from - hilarious!) and I really don't have any reason to complain.  Granted, I'm sure there will be the small (but vocal) contingent of People Who Simply Won't Be Pleased With Anything that'll find some reason to bitch about this episode (last week it was the Doctor's throwaway line of "She's a woman" that had everyone's G-strings in a knot... oy...), but I liked it.  Monsters and all.

Summer Movie Roundup - Transformers, Thor, Captain America

Since I don't have to be to work until 4:00 pm tomorrow and I really don't feel like going to bed quite yet (give me five minutes, maybe), I'm going to do something I've meant to do since the 4th of July and that is review movies I've seen this summer.  I've already reviewed Harry Potter, so I will skip that one and proceed with the others, starting with the dumbest one first -

SPOILER WARNING for "Transformers: Day of the Moon," "Captain America: The First Avenger" and "Thor"

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Punch me in the face, this movie is horrible!

The only reason I even saw Transformers was that our little two-screen movie theater back home had a matinee for the 4th of July (they almost never do that) and my only other option was "Cars 2."  Since I found the premise of a second "Cars" movie rather pointless (the first one was so good - why ruin it with a sequel?  Oh, wait... Disney... that's right...)  I supposed I didn't have to see a movie that day, but it was the principle of the thing.

Full Disclosure - I haven't seen any of the other Transformers movies, so I was at a loss at quite a few things Like, why in the world is this porn star dating this geeky kid?  (No, seriously - at the beginning, I thought that girl was a hooker he'd paid with all his millions of dollars the government gave him for saving the world in the previous movies.  Or something).  However, I have seen some Michael Bay movies (it's anyone's guess why I would do such a thing) so I more or less knew what to expect.

I wish this hadn't have been a Michael Bay thing.  Because the Transformers (forgive me - I'm not into this fandom, so I don't know the proper terms for the different factions of alien robots) have such interesting backstories!  Or, at least, I think they do.  I don't know.  Because the movie dispensed with any useful information in favor of an HOUR LONG battle sequence in the finale (did I mention it lasted an hour?  I timed it).  Also - how in the world could any human survive falling out of shattering glass buildings?  Even my disbelief can't be suspended for that much.  I could maaaaaybe buy Hooker Girl running through a warzone in ten-inch heels.  Maybe.

One more thing - Shia LaBeouf is NOT an action star.  I'm sorry, but every time I see him, I see goofy Louis Stevens from the old Disney Channel show "Even Stevens."  He and Jon Heder could probably make a pretty decent comedy movie, but I never want to see this kid in an action movie ever again.  Ever. Again. (will I get my wish? Probably not).

Captain America: The First Avenger

Ever since my high school buddies and I caught the first "Spider-Man" movie on opening weekend, I have been a sucker for comic book movies.  Even having never really been a reader of actual comic books, I love the humanizing side of these characters and I think this is something the Marvel movies have done well (yes, I know Spider-Man isn't exactly under the Marvel Studios - it's with Sony - but go with me here).  While I enjoyed Christopher Nolan's Batman movies (and I hope he does something decent with Superman because the Man of Steel deserves a good movie), the DC movies haven't been as captivating.  But with the Iron Man movies, Marvel has something really intriguing going on here, so I was excited for this.

I was also a bit nervous.  Because I didn't want Captain America to be this hokey mockery of patriotism.  I was afraid that the filmmakers would make Cap into this jokey cartoonish guy that no one took seriously.  The number one thing the filmmakers did right was setting this movie during World War II and Steve Rogers is this kid who just wants to fight for his country.  Not in this wide-eyed idealistic way - he just can't stand bullies (which, I think sums up America's involvement in World War II pretty nicely).  And while parts of the movie addressed the fact that Captain America could have been this farcical character, he eventually is allowed to become the hero that the country and the world needs at that moment.  But even while he's the hero, he's still kind of this kid from Brooklyn who hangs on to his principles and ideals.  Mad props to Chris Evans for playing a character who, while a bit naive, still had the gravitas necessary to pull off the hero schtick. I am excited to see how his character and personality fit in with the 21st century Avengers.

(Also - a big hand to the ensemble dark horse, Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Phillips.  I didn't know he was going to be in this movie, but I enjoyed his character a lot.  My personal favorite is when the Colonel and his boys are fighting it out with HYDRA and one of the HYDRA mooks says "Cut off one head, two more..." Colonel Phillips blasts the guy and says "Let's go find two more!"  Vintage TLJ and it's brilliant).

Thor

Maybe it's my Scandinavian heritage, but this was the movie I was most looking forward to seeing this summer.  For a while, I thought the studios were going to have "Thor" play second fiddle to "Captain America" - you know, release "Thor" at the beginning of the summer just as the opening act to the main event in "Captain America."  As such, I figured they would sort of cheapy-up on the God of Thunder and bank on the hype for later.

Oh, how wrong I was.

First of all, Asgard is positively gorgeous! (scenery porn, anyone?)  I love that the movie spends so much time there and explaining who the Asgardians are and how important they are to human history. Big thumbs up for the "Ancient gods are really aliens with and magic-that's-really-science" premise.  It's probably been done before, but I haven't seen it, so I think it's pretty original and I liked it.  I love the family dynamic between Odin, Thor and Loki (really, I could have just watched an entire movie with those three reading the phone book.

Also - just the right amount of sappy love story.  I think all the Marvel movies do the romance well - just enough to serve the larger story - but for some reason, the balance in "Thor" caught my attention more than in any of the others.  Probably because Jane and Thor's relationship wasn't the driving force behind the story, but it was there and I didn't feel insulted by it and I even felt a little sad at the end - I hope the Rainbow Bridge gets fixed!

Oh yeah - the Rainbow Bridge.  When you think "Rainbow Bridge," don't you think of the multi-colored tiled track in Mario Kart Racing that we all hate because there are no side walls?  But I liked the way the graphics guys designed that to be all swirly and pretty and not stupid-looking at all.  Like I said, Asgard was really cool-looking, but special mention must go to the Rainbow Bridge.

Best line of the movie: After a night of drunken merriment, Thor has to carry Dr. Selvig home.  Of his drinking buddy and their evening's activities, Thor says: "We drank, we fought, he made his ancestors proud!"

The Bottom Line: Marvel hits two out of the park. Michael Bay just leaves the park. Can't wait for "The Avengers" next year!

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

A slight break from the Doctor Who giddiness to bring you -

THE HUNGER GAMES TEASER TRAILER!!



ahem... yay.

Ev'ry Hotsy-Totsy Nazi Stand and Cheer!

Review of "Let's Kill Hitler" (and appropriate SPOILERS) beneath the video.  But first I have to talk about this clip.  I was going to use this scene from the 1968 version of "The Producers." Then I saw that John Barrowman was in the 2005 version. How could I pass up a serendipitous opportunity like this?

God bless Mel Brooks.



First - the obvious: This wasn't so much about Hitler as it was about Melody/River Song.  I'm kind of glad that we more or less skipped over all the Silence-raising-Melody stuff, to be honest.  Because - it's the Doctor's story, dagnabbit! Let's get on with it!

Anyway, I was nervous that this Mels girl was going to be a sudden new companion and I could not for the life of me figure out what was going on with her.  There was a little bit of side-eyeing going on until - HOLY CRAP SHE REGENERATED!  (and nice explanation of regenerating into a toddler in New York City). Steven Moffat pulls out another spectacular curve ball and it turns out Amy and Rory have been best friends with their daughter their entire lives!

And, because I must - IT'S LITTLE AMY AND LITTLE RORY!!!! Do you know how much I've hoped and prayed for a flashback to how Amy and Rory met? *flail*



And, also because I must - it will be interesting to see how people react to the Doctor's hand-waving of the Temporal Grace Flibbertigibbet of the TARDIS. I don't have a problem with it because I didn't grow up with the show (*sniffle*) and I don't necessarily subscribe to the Doctor's high-n-mighty pacifistic tendencies.  He may have neutralized Melody's guns in that brilliant little scene - but Amy Pond condemned all those people in the Robot of Great Justice to death and that action comes down to the Doctor's influence (for other examples, see "Journey's End").

You know, I think I've finally got all the answers I wanted about River Song.  Those things that haven't been stated outright (like her relationship with the Doctor, for example) are implied well enough that the story doesn't need to dwell on it.  Unless something else comes up that they want to.  Though, I actually thought this phase of River Song's story would come at the end of this season - her first meeting of the Doctor, he gives her the TARDIS diary (brand new! eeeeeeee! One of my favorite things in this world is brand new blank journals, JSYK).

So - we got the River Song story, now we're focused on the Why Does the Doctor Die at Lake Powell Silencio and How Can This Be Prevented In The End So There Can Be a Fiftieth Anniversary Special?  One thing is for certain - with Steven Moffat at the wheel, the answer is going to be very satisfying (and definitely not what anybody else comes up with.  Oh, theorize all you like because that's just a ton of fun - but I'll bet you a donut that no one is going to figure it out.  Oh, you might come up with some bits and pieces - but never the whole picture).  Seriously - I don't think the man is capable of leaving loose ends of a story lying around undone (I'm sure that his shoelaces are always tied very neatly).

Other Things I Liked:
- Rory punching - not just Hitler - but some random Nazi punk in the street (and Heil's the guy in order to do it).
- Really, the whole 1938 Berlin and Nazi Germany thing was done rather tastefully - if such a thing is possible.  Honestly, the time this takes place in is more or less a backdrop to the bigger story that it could have been any time period with a truly evil dictator.
- Did I mention Little Amy and Little Rory? I did? Okay, because that was just cute.
- On that note - what other girl does Rory pay attention to? Oh, I don't know - the one that he's staring right in the face? (Karen and Arthur played that perfectly - I was grinning like an idiot the whole time ^_^)
- It's a nitpicky thing - but a car like Amy and Rory's is just not going to create crop circles that big.  You'd need a giant swather (that's a hay cutting machine, for you city folk) to even get close to that big.  Even driving a pickup truck doesn't cause that much damage to a field.  But I guess no one else would notice that - just a farm girl who spent her growing-up years on a tractor.
- Nods to past companions were great - even recognition of the Doctor's guilt at everything.  And I loved the line "Is there anyone in this universe I haven't completely screwed up?"  That'll please the anti-Doctor/Rose crowd, I guess.
- I really think Series 6.2 is going to be Amy's time to shine.  We've had Rory the Roman being badass and wonderful (and that certainly continues here), but Amy is going to kick some serious rear end over the next five weeks (I'm holding to my theory that Amy-the-Futuristic-Samurai-Warrior is going to be the answer to Rory the Roman.  And, yes, I'm working on the name).
- Alex Kingston is fantastic.  When she plays the flirtatious psychopath and blasts regeneration energy at the Nazis and steals clothes from the people in the restaurant - I think this was the River Song Steven Moffat wanted everyone to see and Alex Kingston just knocks it out of the park.  I think River's part in the story is going to end soon, which is a shame because she's just a fabulous character and I love her to pieces!

This was a pretty flawless episode, really (unless something else in future episodes screw it up - which I highly doubt it will).  I was happy about the whole thing, glad for so much resolution and there were some fantastic bits in the story. Matt Smith - again, cannot be given enough praise. Mad props - to everybody, really.



ETA: One more thing - The TARDIS taught River how to fly the TARDIS - because the Doctor was busy that day!!  Damn right, he was - IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!

And Here We Go!

Let's Kill Hitler, everyone! (that dirty rotten so-and-so...)

In Need of a Pick-Me-Up

I'm going to be "bleah" for a minute here, so if you'd like to skip ahead to the video, feel free.

Had a really weird day.  First of all, last weekend, our neighbors' son drowned at Flaming Gorge Reservoir and that's been tough on all involved.  Today, I found out when and where the funeral's going to be.  I fully plan on attending because that's the best way for me to deal with the grief.  But I'm always apprehensive at funerals.  This one's going to be especially rough because I went to high school with this kid and he graduated with my sister and his parents live down the road from my parents.  I mean, I'm solid in the knowledge of where he is right now (and I know his family is too) and that's a comfort.  I'm sure that he's having a great time meeting up with his grandparents and other assorted relatives and it's just us who are still here being weepy and teary-eyed about it.  It's natural to grieve, of course, and I would be the last to diminish anyone's feelings of loss.  But I don't deny that I know he's in a place that's a million times better than this life.

So - there's that I'm dealing with.  Plus, just the regular crap that gets piled on in the course of normal life.  The study abroad office decided to be punks and bug us all about getting our paperwork in.  This is the same paperwork we had to wait for three months to get just because some director or ombudsman or some other made-up academic pencil-pusher couldn't be bothered to send to us until three or four days ago.  But now that we have it, they can ride our butts and carp that we don't have our stuff in (which requires two academic references, two passport-sized photograph, a notarized signature and a fecal sample from our firstborn.  Okay - maybe not that last one).  Well, I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to wait.  My life wasn't going to wait for you to get on the ball.

Add to the fact that one of the supervisors at the library I subbed at today was a total pain-in-the-neck.  She kept giving me the stink-eye when I would help a patron at her workstation and check in books where she thought I wasn't supposed to be.  I think she was worried I was after her job or something.  Truth is, I'm not after a full-time library clerk position.  I want a post as an actual librarian - at the information desk.  With a Master's degree and potential to become a manager.  Worry not my sweet little part-time retiree - your pension is safe and secure *pat, pat*

Oy - if you read all that whining, good for you.  This calls for something that is complete light and fluffy and just a bundle of feel-good-ness. And since I had Owl City's "Galaxies" stuck in my head all day - and because Doctor Who just automatically puts me in a good mood - I decided to search for a DW video with that song. And this one is one of the best. Makes me wish I was better at vidding - alas, I'm too cheap to spring for the really good video-making software. So, I will just enjoy some of the stuff other people come up with.

Enough yakking - watch the video!

See, I Told You So!

Remember back when everyone was in a blind panic over vague rumors that Doctor Who Series 7 would not air a full season in 2012?  I pointed out several reasons why this was not the great apocalyptic event that everyone was worried about.  Well the head cheese himself, Steven Moffat, has unconditionally debunked those rumors (and in glorious fashion, I might add).  And if you can't take the Moff's word for it, then I don't know who you can believe.

I love it when I'm right.

(Thanks to Planet Gallifrey for the link.  Full interview can be found here - I didn't see anything spoilery in the interview, in case you're worried about that).