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).

Some Non-Attendee (yet) Love for Gallifrey One

It's been a busy two weeks for me - and it's only going to get busier.  But guess what? Doctor Who's coming back on Saturday! Yay! (and it's going to be the hottest week of this summer between now and then - boo...)

I went down to visit my family this weekend, as I do from time to time and I enjoyed myself.  Got to see my little niece (there is no child cuter - I defy anyone to even attempt to convince me otherwise), see some people I don't often get to see and completely miss seeing my brother, who was out with his buddies (he's heading off to college in a week or so - he doesn't have time for his nerdy older sister).  Before I began my trek back, I downloaded the most recent Radio Free Skaro and put it on my iPod for my 2-hour drive back to the city.

Before I go on, I must mention that I was feeling a bit down about some things.  Nothing serious - just life being stupid.  I'd intended to listen to an audiobook I got from the library, but I decided to listen to RFS instead.  After the boys gave their Torchwood reviews and discussed current Doctor Who news, they had an interview with Shaun Lyon, program director for Gallifrey One, the extremely huge and awesome Doctor Who convention that takes place in Los Angeles every February.  I thought I'd be a little bummed after listening to the interview, seeing as how I am not currently in a financial position to spend money on such trips, though I have resolved to go in 2013 (as long as I am more gainfully employed at that point than I am now).  I thought I'd be even more depressed as Shaun and The Three Who Rule discussed events and guests and just general Gally-awesome-stuff.  But, you know what? The discussion actually cheered me up some.  So much that, by the time I got home, I wasn't worried about what I'd been upset about in the first place.

Last year, I participated in Gally the way many people did - via the internet.  And while I felt a twinge of jealousy for the people who were there (you are were in the same building as Peter Davison??? *whine*), I did feel as though I had been a part of it.  The best way I can describe how I felt about Gally is that I was happy that it was something that existed, even though I couldn't be there.  What's more, I started planning my own trip for when I actually am able to fly down to LA and take part in person.

In the RFS interview, Shaun mentioned that some people have asked if they'll ever stream the entire convention online.  His reply was that you just don't get the sense of community from viewing it online that you do from attending the convention.  I have to disagree with him just a little bit there, but I'm not about to ask that they stream the convention anyway (NO, PLEASE DON'T!)  When I watched people's YouTube videos and saw their photos and tweets and listened to the podcasts, I felt like I was part of the community a little bit and I could enjoy the convention as it was going on.  At the same time, I felt like it was something I had to see for myself (again, you don't need to stream the convention.  This is something that has to be experienced in real life and streaming it would cheapen it in a way. But I digress).

This is something I love about the Doctor Who fandom that I don't think other fandoms have - in the DW fandom, you can just jump in anywhere with anybody and you immediately have friends.  Just as an example:  I work as a substitute library clerk where I fill in on an as-needed basis at several libraries in the Salt Lake City area.  At one of the libraries where I worked this week, I met a lady whose been a Whovian since time immemorial, yet she was willing to discuss the series with me, a lowly newbie.  At another library that I worked at a few weeks ago, I met a girl who been to Gally and who cosplays and who is damn good at it and we had a great conversation (I'd seen her in several photos and videos and I felt like I was meeting a celebrity - she was cool about it, though).  There's no line of demarcation, no cliques within the fandom - everybody gets along and everybody has a great time together.  Oh, sure, there's debate and controversy (what do you expect from a group this large with so many different backgrounds?), but by and large, Whovians are fantastic human beings who just enjoy fantastic stories and characters and who come together to share in that enjoyment.  And I think Gally is a manifestation of that camaraderie.  You just don't get that in other fandoms (I'm side-eyeing Harry Potter fans here).

I don't know how you plan for that or if it just happens, but I have to tip my hat to the people who put Gallifrey One together because from where I'm sitting, they do an outstanding job.  So much so that I'm looking forward to this year's edition even though it's unlikely I'll be able to attend (I'm not going to say for certain that it won't happen this year, but I will say that I'm aiming for 2013 - the 50th anniversary year is probably going to be something special. No pressure, folks).  I'll watch the goings-on through what people post online and I'll get excited for the next year.

30 Days of Summer Break Doctor Who - A Tumblr Extravaganza!

Remember how I did a 30 Days of New Who back in April for the premiere of Doctor Who Series 6.1? Well, I've been doing one in anticipation of Series 6.2 - except this one's on Tumblr. Not wanting my loyal readership (all five of you) to miss out on my new project - 30 Days of Summer Break Doctor Who!  So, go check out what I've got going over there, and any other shenanigans I get up to.

Go ahead - go look!

Series Six in Four Minutes or Less or It's Free

In anticipation of the Series 6.2 premiere of Doctor Who on August 27, BBC America has this nice little four-minute recap of the first half.  Enjoy!

(SPOI... oh, forget it - if you cared about being spoiled, you'd have seen the whole thing already)



(I'm going to be a pain in the neck for a minute and suggest that the 60-second clip of "The Rebel Flesh"/"The Almost People" is all you really ever need to see of that story. Gangers, Amy, baby, got it - move on).

Coming Full Circle - Review of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" part 2

There will be spoilers for the last Harry Potter movie here, just so you're aware.  And a little sentimentality too - but not too much (hopefully).

Well, I finally saw the movie over the weekend - the one I wanted to wait until after all the hoopla and mourning had died down.  Honestly, it had gotten to a fever pitch in the lead-up to July 15 and people were being downright ridiculous about it.  I mean, I was one of Those People.  You know, the people who went to midnight showings and dressed up in Hogwarts robes and run over little kids to win actual replica wands at the Barnes and Noble trivia contest (I wish I were joking about that last one - I still have the wand on my bookcase at home).  But this time - I didn't indulge in the fandom.  Mostly because the HP fandom has become so cliqueish and self-important and a real pain in the ass in the past few years.  And really, in high school, Harry Potter was what helped me escape people like that in the real world.  It would be disrespectful to my memory of the series to get away from one set of jerks only to end up in the company of another gang of equally insufferable jerks.

But enough venting about the HP fandom - this is about the Deathly Hallows movie.

I suppose it's fitting that I ended up seeing this movie in the same theater that I skipped school to stand in line for tickets to see "Sorcerer's Stone."  I even got my picture in the paper and everything! (still is the best picture ever taken of me - mostly because I'm looking down into my copy of "Prisoner of Azkaban").  I wasn't anticipating liking this movie very much, only because the movies have been really disappointing in recent years - though I still maintain that "Order of the Phoenix" turned out to be the best movie of the set.  My biggest gripe about the movies is that they've sacrificed coherent storytelling in favor of razzle-dazzle special effects and pointless padding (a dragon chasing Harry around Hogwarts in "Goblet of Fire" - really??) The list of the movie makers' crimes against this beloved series is long and painful (I'm still seething that they didn't explain the Marauder's Map or even what the Priori Incantatem spell meant).  This has led me to believe that certain stories can only be told in certain mediums - a story like Harry Potter was first told in book form because that's what worked the best.  Star Wars can be done as a movie because that's how it was created.  Doctor Who is best done as a TV series with a few spin-off novels and audio adventures, but never a big-time Hollywood production.  The stories wouldn't translate very well.

Initially, I thought the "It's complicated" exchange between Harry and Griphook was going to be the mantra for explaining all these key plot points.  That's how it's been for ten years, so why should that change now?  JK Rowling was a one-woman production crew when she wrote these stories (with some help from her editors, I'm sure).  Everything came from her imagination and it proved to be too complex for a bunch of directors and screenwriters and producers to cobble together something worthy of being called a Harry Potter movie.  Maybe I'm just so nit-picky, but I value storytelling over "Hey, look - we can make Harry fall out of a flying car and almost get pulverized by a moving train! Ain't we neat!"

But when it counted - when it honestly, truly mattered - the filmmakers got one thing right.  They took the time to explain why Harry had to die.  And for that, I do give them credit.

The emotional moments were there too - not just the sad ones either.  I silently cheered when Professor McGonagall dueled Snape and forced him out of the castle (I don't care what sordid behavior those Hufflepuffs get up to in their common room - they will NEVER have Minerva McGonagall as their Head of House).  That goes double when she mobilized the stone suits of armor to protect Hogwarts and she turns to Molly Weasley and says "I always wanted to do that spell."  Yes, that was an addition by the writers, but it was a welcome addition - one that gave Professor McGonagall some of that tongue-in-cheek personality that she had in the books but was sorely missed in the movies.

Oh, and how great was Luna Lovegood?  One of the best things the casting folks ever did was find Evanna Lynch for that part.  I've always loved her characterization and her performances in these movies.  And of course she would befriend a lonely ghost like the Grey Lady, so that worked out as well.

I was a little put-off by the scene with Ron and Hermione in the Chamber of Secrets - mostly because I didn't get why all the water rushed up at them when Hermione destroyed the Horcrux.  But, I guess they had to get that kiss in somehow and since they had long-since disposed of the house-elf subplots, they had to come up with something.

The Malfoy Family - are a bunch of baby-pants-wetting twerps and Harry should have left Draco to roast to a crisp.

And - The Prince's Tale.  It made me cringe when I read it and it made me cringe when I saw it on the screen.  I still can't accept that Snape was a good guy, even though it explicitly states it in canon.  I'm even more weirded out that he and Lily were somewhat of an item (until the greasy little toerag called her a Mudblood - Lily very rightly dismisses him from her circle of acquaintances and married James Potter, whom I've been rather partial to from the beginning, personally).  But Alan Rickman was amazing in his role as Snape.  I may not like book!Snape, but movie!Snape has always been a joy to watch.

I think my picking of nits ends there - to the end of the movie, I just ate everything up.  From the scene where Harry sees his parents, Sirius and Remus in the forest to the scene in heavenly!King's Cross to the final confrontation with Voldemort - oh, can we get a big hand for NEVILLE freaking LONGBOTTOM!!  Matthew Lewis has always been one of my favorites in these movies.  He was fabulous - his stare-down of Voldemort was a call-back to him standing up to Harry, Ron and Hermione in Sorcerer's Stone, proving that the Boy That Could Have Been had it in him all along.

The day finally belongs to Harry Potter - defeating old No-Nose in the fight of his young life.  Sure, there are things to go "um... okay..." about, but this ended the way it needed to.  Harry beats Voldy, Ron and Hermione celebrate with him (though, that final scene with Hermione taking Ron's and Harry's hands sort of looked like the beginning of a "Hermy and the Boys" rock band).  All is right with the world.

And here, I must give love to the epilogue.  Because the fandom has heaped hate and dumped invectives against it and I think they're outside of their minds to hate it ('course, the HP fandom are mostly a bunch of self-important baby-pants-wetting twerps that'll smile at you while they're twisting the knife in your back.  Too many Death Eater fangirls, I think).  It was a lovely send-off in the book and it's a lovely send-off in the movie.  Maybe it was the visual medium that made it hit home, but it was so sweet to see the Potter/Weasley clan all grown up with young wizards and witches of their own - realizing that they risked life and sanity to come to this moment.  They all have normal lives and going to Hogwarts isn't as scary as it once was - especially if your surname is Potter.  Seeing Harry as a dad, calming his own son's fears about his first year at Hogwarts melted my heart (and it was a little jarring to see Harry with a wedding ring - but jarring in a good way).  And it didn't help in the waterworks department that the music playing underneath that scene was the same John Williams score from the end of Sorcerer's Stone where Harry - fresh off his first year at Hogwarts - proclaims that his home is Hogwarts.  Now, his kids are off to Hogwarts and life is good and things are happy.

(Okay, I'm about to get really mushy here, so that will end the review part of this post.  I'm about to get weirdly personal.  Just warning you).

As much as Harry, Ron, Hermione - and Ginny, to a degree - had conquered so much to come to this point, it felt like I'd conquered something substantial since that first time I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  I learned that I could relate to my world through stories - that I could pick up meanings and things that no one else could understand.  And because I will always look to these stories and characters as real events and real people, I will probably be a little weird to others.  But I'm okay with that.  I feel like they add some depth to my life - that I have a greater understanding of myself and things that go on around me.  Even if other people try to ruin my love of these stories (whether they themselves are fans of the work or not) it doesn't matter.  The stories are what matter the most.

The story is far from over.  Because I still have the books and the movies to revisit.  I don't need fandom to tell me what I should like or what I should accept as canon - I don't even need to participate in fandom to love the Harry Potter series.  The stories stand on their own without it.  And I can too.

Just Add it to the List of Crazy Things I've Done (or am currently doing)

I've done some pretty crazy things in the past few years.  At least, for me they were crazy at the time.  Putting my life on hold for 18 months to serve a mission for my church in heaven-knows-what corner of the world, talking to people who, at best, only want to me leave them alone and at worse scream obscenities at me for daring to approach them was crazy (though I survived it - strangely enough).  Applying for graduate school seemed a long shot at the time, but here I am two years after the fact and thisclose to being done.  Even applied for study abroad, which was a whole 'nother ball of insanity (I'll let you know how it goes when it's over).  But this next project takes the cake.

I just signed up for NaNoWriMo.

Those Who Know are applauding and cheering for yet another sucker participant in the annual write-a-thon.  Those Who Have No Clue are going "What??"  NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month and it happens every November.  The challenge is to write a 50,000 novel in 30 days starting on November 1 and ending at 11:59.59 on November 30.  You can't use anything you've written previously - everything has to be from scratch (you can do some outlining and character sketches to prepare, but no writing on the actual novel).  Many of my friends know that I've had this idea for a novel trickling in my head since high school, but very little has ever come of it.  Oh, I've had a few attempts at a draft, but they've all fallen by the wayside like so many... things that fall by the wayside.  I don't think I'll write the story that's plagued me for so long in November (I don't think I can, actually), but it would be cool to write something and actually finish it - even if it's utter crap (in which case I can polish it up after the challenge is completed and it will be awesome).

I've known about NaNoWriMo for a long time, but today one of the librarians when I'm doing my internship was talking about it as a program for the writing group she runs at the library.  I've mentioned maybe joining the writing group just for the heck of it, but today she really got me interested in this.  And it'll be nice to know that I at least made an attempt at it (even better if I actually finish the task).

So, if I go off the grid in November, you know why.  And if you have any writerly inclinations, you should sign up as well.  And please send good thoughts and feelings my direction this fall.

Because I want to write a novel, dammit.

I Honestly Have No Clue What is Going On Here

Which is also The Theme of Doctor Who Series 6!

Here is another (albeit shorter) trailer for the second half of series 6. It goes without saying that there are spoilers here - but I really have no clue what any of this points to or what's even going to happen, so if you can divine anything substantial from this :40 second clip, you have greater powers of deduction than I.

But the music is pretty cool, I have to say: