Entropy loses a round
Hmph. The Microsoft Office 2008 icons are kinda ugly.
Listening to some Vangelis music at work this morning. “Alpha” is one of those tunes that sends tingles up my spine when I listen to it, and awakes wonder and potential in my mind. If only I could stay in that headspace for days at a time… it probably wouldn’t be good for me, but I feel that I’d get a lot done while I could stand it.
I wonder where the ‘tingles’ come from? It’s absolutely a physical sensation to me, but I have no idea what produces it.
Far more importantly, my mom is walking now without human assistance. She’s still using a walker or crutch, but given that she couldn’t even move the leg two weeks ago, this is an absolutely awesome development, and I joked that she’s making far better progress than I did. If any of my friends have ever wondered where my buried stubborn streak came from, this may provide a clue. I am thrilled for her – and while she’s there, they think they may be able to correct a nerve issue that’s pained her for about 20 years, so, silver lining!
And speaking of doctors, it took me a visit to Wikipedia to learn that the awfully-familiar looking archaeologist on Doctor Who this week was Dr. Corday on ER for seven seasons. Cool.
Sontar-HA!
The Sontaran two-parter from this Doctor Who series really pleased me. Lots of fun things happened, the production design of the alien battlesuits and technology looked great, and we got a somewhat more mature Martha Jones back for a couple of episodes. There were a few rough pacing moments – as if the script worked out about 10 minutes short overall – but nothing fatal.
Donna remains an excellent foil for the Doctor, freaking out in fear one moment and standing up to him the next. It’s a lot of fun having grownups aboard the TARDIS, and even when Donna must leave, I hope they consider continuing the trend. At no point did the episode get stupid (well, there’s an atmosphere bit near the end which is a little brow-raising, but not too bad), and UNIT gets to show that, in the 21st century, they’re actually good for something.
I’d put in a request, if I could, for the Beeb to fund some more space episodes, as Earth is getting invaded now every month on the first Wednesday. It’s like paying bills – “Let’s see, cable, electric, water, and oh yes, alien invasion due tomorrow. Must call in sick to work.”
Everyone caught the face that shows for a split second on the TARDIS console screen, right?
We’re picking up spoilers on scan…
‘Twas caviar
This weekend was good. I got to chill a little bit, which I’d long needed. Had caviar for the first time ever; it tasted mostly of salt, and slightly fishy. I’ve heard it’s served on buttered toast, and I think that would improve it quite a bit.
I also tried the Lord of the Rings online role-playing game. The first thing I noticed is that it’s certainly prettier than WoW (and therefore needs more video processing power than, say, my desktop can handle). I enjoyed the Minstrel class I tried – there’s something entertaining about whipping out a lute in the middle of a melee and dealing damage with a few bars of a song.
But, when all’s said and done, I enjoy the slightly surrealistic graphics of WoW – they seem to fit with a world which has so many fantastic shorthands for everyday actions – and the LotR game takes itself fairly seriously, which also isn’t really what I’m here for. I might play it if there were a Mac version and no other competitors, but my subscription will stay with Blizzard for now.
This week’s Doctor Who episode brings the Series 4 average down to .667. Even discounting the goofy, thoughtless science – which is hard, since one element is a major plot point – there wasn’t much special about it. Donna was great; her emotional arc about the future of humanity and our ethics, and the conditions of the Ood provided a welcome touch of development.
But overall, the episode was fairly formulaic, including at least one completely gratuitous CGI death, and someone trying viciously to kill the Doctor for no reason at all. One touch I did like: minor spoiler
Darkness and Light
Conflicting emotions fight for possession of my journal this morning.
This is, of course, the one-year anniversary of a fool at Virginia Tech deciding that since his life wasn’t working out right, random strangers should be made to suffer. NASA Langley will “share a time of reflection with the Virginia Tech community” today, according to our website. The friends, families, and fellow students involved will certainly be in my thoughts today.
On the other hand, last night the Discovery Channel ran the most hopeful, joyful television commercial I may ever have seen, reminding me that the world is grand, and complex, and beautiful, and that for every nihilistic Greyface out there, there’s someone trying to make our time here better and happier. I can’t believe I’m feeling the urge to thank a media conglomerate for their advertising.
Boom-dee-ah-da.
Some things are fixed, some things are in flux
The latest Who made me happy for the second time in a row, hitting all the right notes. Not only was the script intelligent, irreverent, and snappy, I didn’t have to sit through any groaningly silly pseudoscience. Plus, we got a quick shout-out to a First Doctor story – now there’s research!
And Donna’s honestly winning me over: anyone who can give her captors a tongue-lashing while tied to a sacrificial altar is worthy company for the Doctor. And she once again shows him, in the climactic scenes, exactly why he’s taken her aboard. I wanted to cheer for both of them.
Next week we get the return of the evil (misunderstood?) Ood from Series 2. I can’t honestly say I’m thrilled… but then, I couldn’t say I was eager to see the Ferengi on their second appearance, so I’ll give the writers a chance. Perhaps I’ll get three for three.
Parthenogenesis is an Athenian Prog Rock band
Back on the fandom front, I finished watching the Series 4 premiere of Doctor Who last night. I have to say I was enormously pleased. I have learned to stop worrying about the comic-book science of the new show, and was able to focus on the acting and writing, which satisfied me fine.
David Tennant’s mentioned that his favorite Doctor was the Fifth, and his version shares a certain tendency to be swept along helplessly by events. It’s no coincidence that his catch phrase is “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.” as he observes another loss he could not prevent. The Tenth Doctor rose above that in this story, and I hope he’ll continue to do so in this year’s plots.
The Doctor’s at his best when he’s facing down a villain and stating, sociably, “I’d advise you not to be fooled by your first impressions of me. You’re hurting innocent sentients here, and I’m going to ask you nicely, once, to stop.” Tennant nailed that note this episode. spoilers approaching
2008: A Hampton Roads Odyssey
BIG weekend.
rhaps and shrewlet came down, partially to socialize, and partially to pick up some unused floor tile from Starr’s mom.
I won’t list all the places to which I drove on Saturday and Sunday, it would be tedious for both writer and readers. But my destinations involved finances, prescriptions, breakfasts, lunch, dinner, additional socializing with Dwight, Bert, and Meche, HD channels for the TV, tile collection, and flowers.
The irises were interesting. Turns out that they were free because I had to dig them out of the lady’s downtown Norfolk garden myself. In the rain. And I hadn’t brought tools. And there were two hens and a rooster looking over my shoulder and providing constructive criticism.
On the other hand, the additional HD channels were all free, and consisted of content such as Discovery, Science, Food Network, Bravo, and TLC: the only sort of channels our TV tends to be tuned to anyway. We did watch 2001: A Space Odyssey on Universal HD, learning that yes, a pretty movie gets prettier at 1080i.
Good weekend, but I’m pooped.
Sorry, Katemonster…
While I’m working on Saturday’s report, I forgot to post this little nugget from Friday’s dance: “The Internet Is For: PORN”
(For those who’ve never seen this: probably not work safe. Quite possibly in bad taste. If you think it’s silly watching World of Warcraft characters sing this, keep in mind that it’s originally sung by puppets in an award-winning Broadway show.)
EDIT: And, by a weird coincidence, tonight’s DVR’d “Ace of Cakes” showcased an Avenue Q cake. Huh.
Just One More Turn
Starr is feeling much better today – it appears to have been nothing more than a vicious virus. She’s at home playing the copy of Civilisation II I gave her. (OMG, that game is crack just to watch. How addictive must it be to play? WoW has nothing on Civ!)
I had a sockfull of good intentions for chores and games and stuff last night, but that turned into Civ-watching, dinner, half of Master Blasters, and an early bedtime. I haven’t yet decided if I’ll like MB based on the little I just saw, but it does have building stuff and rocketry going for it.
It’s about time for another haircut. I’m wondering how the short hair from my Next Gen icon would look.
Tweets for Today
- 19:08 Fairly keen WoW amateur video here: tinyurl.com/22yxnf Not your average game machinima, either. #
- 20:00 I’m really missing Junkyard Wars. I want to watch one of those without having to download it. Preferably with Cathy Rogers hosting. #
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