Year in Review -- Part Two

This year was full of rumbles that shook the world. There was the Arab spring, the Occupy movement, the revolts all over from London to Greece. DADT was repelled finally and the uniforms didn't become pink and the barracks weren't redecorated with some chintz and a few nice throw pillows. The clown car that is the Republican party has become a complete real life dumb and dumber with sequels. Plus Wisconsin is doing a pretty good job with the recall Scott Wanker effort, hopefully they will prevail. We have the original dumb and dumber (Bachmann and Perry), corrupt and corrupter (Cain and Gingrich) and "Whose that?" starring Huntsman and Paul. Anybody but Romney each has a go before the Rombot 2012 gets the nomination in the end. There was so much more but I get tired of politics after a while. It either makes me angry or depresses me. We will see what next years brings. I will finish up with a few more thoughts tomorrow. Take care tonight and be safe.

Year in Review 2011 Part One

I guess this is the start of the countdown to the end of the world as we know it. I give the 2012 date a little more credence than a crazy religious nut and they made a movie about it so it is bound to happen, John Cusack wouldn't lie to me. So this being the last full year of lazy and complacent normalcy, it behooves me to look back upon it.

Once again 2011 was filled with some fabulous TV. Here are a few of my top picks.

American Horror Story:
What can I say about this hot mess. This is like the episodic series equivalent of Monty Python's Whizzo Chocolate Company's Crunchy Frog sweetmeat. The crazy was everywhere rendering you powerless in the face of it, and it was a joy to behold. I did not miss an episode and most of them had me gasping for breath. I find it hard to believe that this came from the mind of the man who created Glee but that show is a horror story of a different nature. Although this atones a bit, I will never quite forgive him for unleashing the obnoxious Lea Michele and her nasally singing on the world.  Jessica Lange was phenomenal, the ending was sad and strangely uplifting, loved Zach Quinto in his first post coming out performance and we all know that everything is better with a gimp. All aspects of this show was so wrong it became one big right.

Doctor Who:
I still mourn the loss of David Tennant but I have grown to like Matt Smith (although at times I feel he is trying way too hard). But it was the 2011 season that saw the introduction of the Silence, one of the scariest Who villains ever to be introduced, even eclipsing the Weeping Angels. It was the Who equivalent of the first time we saw the Borg in the Star Trek verse. This creature is like a menacing Observer that you forget the second you look away. Like many things about this show, the concept is fascinating. I hope like the Cybermen and the Daleks, this will be a villain that will return regularly as they are far scarier and less camp.

 Revenge:
What a delightful guilty pleasure this is. I love a good soap and this one has it all. Secrets, lies, deceptions, sex, intrigue, the rich, the fabulous, and amazing wardrobes.  The story of a woman, Emily Thorne (or is she?) returning to where her life was ruined to exact, you guessed it, REVENGE (loud crack of thunder rents the silence). The various schemes and machinations that Emily sets up to do this are just cool. This show isn't deep, it won't change the world but it will give you an incredibly entertaining hour of viewing.

The Walking Dead:
Being a huge fan of the zombie genre from movies and books to games, of course I love this show. I found season 2 to not be as engaging as the first, but that could be due to the firing of Frank Darabont or stretching the concept from 6 tight episodes to a more leisurely 13. This season so far has lurched along with all the grace of one of the walkers, with far more talk than action and way tooooo much Lori. On the other hand, watching Daryl grow and change as a character, and now one of my favorites, has been awesome. I love every scene he is in. Glen was pitifully underused but at least he got some action (in more ways than one if you know what I mean hubba hubba), far more then Token, oh sorry, I mean T-Dog. There were some great moments, the zombie in the well and the shooting of Otis are two that spring to mind. But the round house kick to the head was the reveal in the last 5 minutes of the mid-season finale. By this time I was sick to death of the search for Sophia and wished that they'd just find her already dead or alive. I was unprepared for when they finally did. What a powerful conclusion and a way to guarantee I'll be back. We all hope that good will prevail, that Daryl's sweet promise to Carol, to see her daughter back safe in her arms, that he could be the hero would win out in the end. Instead, the nihilism embodied in Shane's view of the world prevailed. This was a game changer and should sweep the show to the conclusion on a high note.

Not all was great. I watched Dexter through but it was the worst season of this show to date and having Deb realize she was a love with Dexter all along?!? Oh gag me and how hard that must have been for Jennifer Carpenter after MCH cheated on her and now they are divorced. I guess she should have listened to the advice Cosmo gave to Bridget Jones about never dipping your nib in the office ink. But, like the Walking Dead, the final few minutes were amazing. True Blood also seems to be losing its bloom and becomes a parody of itself more times than not these days. All in all there was more to enjoy than not. Tomorrow I will talk about events in 2011.

Can I get a WOOT WOOT...

Throw you're hands in the air like you just don't care -- except you do or at least I do. Look whose getting the band back together.

Rimmer, Lister, Cat, and Kryton are getting ready to film a brand new season of Red Dwarf to air in 2012. It's brilliant and going to be a smegging good time. Here are the boys in a more recognizable incarnation:

Red Dwarf was one of the funniest British comedies to come out of the 1980s. It was right up there with Blackadder and that is saying something. Although RD was a little more low brow, some of the jokes would have me rolling, you haven't seen anything until you've seen someone attacked by a rabid sausage. I loved the interactions between all the actors, and Rimmer's Felix to Lister's Oscar were a joy to behold.

Rimmer: What's this? Learning drugs? They're illegal, matey! I'm afraid you're in very serious, grave, deep trouble, Lister. Where did you get them? I want names, I want places, I want dates.

Lister: Arnold Rimmer, his locker, this morning.

As an added bonus the dialogue was extremely quotable especially Cat's. The show takes place with Lister as the center waking up from being in stasis for 3 million years after the entire crew was killed by a radiation leak. Red Dwarf is the name of the ship he is traveling on and his only companions are the man he hates most, a holographic Rimmer and Cat, who has evolved from Lister's cat. Kryten the service mechanoid joins in later seasons and is a welcome addition and quite the comic foil. The later seasons suffer in comparison to the earlier ones and when Chris Barrie (Rimmer) left the show for a while it lost an integral part of what made it great but it was always funny.

If you have never seen it, all the episodes are available to stream on Netflix. If you have seen it, you are probably as excited as I am to hear this news. Thanks to Justine for bringing this to my attention.

Starry Starry Night

The night has always held infinite mysteries, full of not only wonder but fear of what was hiding in the dark and ancient man has prayed to the deities simply to insure that day would come again. The night is equated with evil, it is when demons, witches, werewolves and vampires thrive. It is also infinitely beautiful and full of mystery. Living in modern times it is easy to lose touch with the night as our forebears knew it. A vastness full of stars and planets with no logical explanation, for which fire was the only weapon to keep its minions at bay. Eventually they found shapes in the stars and named them only to build monuments to them to make calendars, they used them for divination, and to help explorers as they traveled the endless oceans looking for the point where their ships would fall into the nameless void, "here there be monsters."  Cities have diluted this power as it has so many other goblins that stalked our ancestors and last night I was given a taste of that intrinsic human wonder.

There is an amateur astronomy club that meets maybe once a month and they get together and bring their telescopes and let people look through them. Braving the cold a few of us drove out of the city about 20 minutes to partake of the stargazing festivities. With all the talk of inches and size of telescope (almost of game of my telescope is bigger than yours), our small group was reduced to making penis jokes that had us all cracking up. Juvenile I know but fun just the same. Is that a really big pair of binoculars in your pants or you just happy to see me? In the end, what I saw was amazing. The moon was only half full but extremely bright. Many of the scopes were erect and pointing at that heavenly body (see, its just too easy). I saw these amazing craters and mountain ranges and swirls of patterns. I've never seen the moon that close except in pictures, it was amazingly beautiful. Also, unlike in most years, this is Jupiter's time to shine and I saw this massive planet and three of her moons. I was actually able to make out the lines on her surface and the famous red spot. It was brilliant. For sheer excitement there was nothing like seeing the international space station go zipping by so fast that the man who loaned me his huge binoculars to see it said that if I missed it, just wait an hour as it would be back. I find it hard to believe that this construct can circle the globe in an hour and it takes 6 to get to Florida from here. I was able to get a good view though. Lastly, but certainly not least, was the nice gentleman who I talked to about the milky way. He generously agreed to find another galaxy for us to view as the aforementioned one was shy this evening. And that is when I got my first look at Andromeda, the picture at the top of this post. It wasn't as clear but it just took my breath away.  It is things like this that remind me that we do live in a world of wonder. There is no way that we are alone in this universe. That there must be ones just teeming with life and we are stuck here in the backwoods screaming into the void about how important we are, that we are the center upon which everything else radiates from. How puny and insignificant we really are. You would think that our planet's loneliness would bring us together instead of driving us apart. We are children trying to raise ourselves with no direction or guidance, so we are a planet of wild hooligans who have disintegrated into Lord of the Flies barbarity, the strong prey on the weak and call it good. Oh well, enough of this meandering. This was a wonderful experience and highly recommended as an activity if you can find it in your area. My mother lives on a place where the sky is blanketed by stars on clear nights. You can just take a blanket, lie back and get lost. It would add a whole other dimension with a telescope and in this equation, size really does matter.

And now for something completely different:

I found this amazing blog that is posting George Orwell's diary entries to the day. He was really prescient and not just with his fiction. Check it out http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/

And in relation to the Occupy movement and Orwell I found this chilling article written over a year ago. Some things have changed since then and some things have stayed the same. Regardless, it is worth a read and don't forget to read the comments as well. Some of the people are so intelligent that their responses add layers of meaning to the original piece. Unlike comments on news article, these authors are educated, erudite, and use proper spelling and grammar. http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/12/27-1

Happy Halloween!

This is the night of ghosts and ghouls, when spirits can walk the earth, the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest of any time of the year. I enjoyed it, this is the first in at least 5 years that I bought candy and stayed home to dole it out to the little ones. So many cute costumes and I was surprised how many were so polite with pleases and thank you's. It is nice to see the innocence of this night again. It has basically become whore'o'ween, with every girl dressing up in slutty versions of ---insert storybook character, profession, inanimate object here--. I certainly was rusty though. All my years in customer service have trained me that when people thank me I thank them right back. There is nothing like the confused face of a three year old when they thank me in those cute little voices and I say "no, thank you." I remember how fun Halloween was when I was a kid, dressing up (when the point was to be scary not some perverts fapping material), weighing my bag as the night went on, listening to the other kids about the the houses with the best candy, and going home to watch a movie that was scary to a small child. As I have gotten older, Halloween has lost its luster, it has become one more night to go and drink too much. That's why I have Cinco de Mayo.  My favorite holiday is now Thanksgiving, my house becomes a bounty of fall colors, cornucopias, food, friends and family. But, giving candy tonight has reminded me of its magic, the smiles on the little faces were wonderful. So I wish all of you a safe and happy Halloween!

Pricks on Parade

In my last post I commented how much hatefulness seems to have grown in our society. I don't think it is that now that I think about it, it is just that the computer now allows any moron with the ability to string two words together (most likely misspelled) to share it with the world. Any story becomes fodder for their evil thoughts and endemic racism. I'm sure most would say they are good Christians, but their posts say otherwise. These are people with hearts of stone and souls of black. So here I share with you, spelling errors and horrible grammar intact, for all to see, and without comment. Both are from Yahoo! news stories. I don't know what causes it but these mostly innocuous stories seem to bring out the trolls in the worst way. It is bad enough to actually believe the shit that pours forth from their fevered and ignorant brains but to actually type it and want others to read it is stunning. Usually they can turn it into a rant against "Lib'ruls" for stories that have nothing to do with politics, like the story about the cat that was lost at the airport being found. I could post here more examples but this could become the longest post ever if I did that. If you want a real fright this Halloween, just spend the day reading the comments after news stories. Or maybe, as in the immortal words of Steve, I'm just a too sensitive liberal corksoaker and need to get over myself.

Story about a gay 15 year boy being beaten in his High School classroom:

Tom K  •  Muncie, United States  •  29 seconds ago Report Abuse

She should not send IT to school gay. Should have known better.

Steve  •  Tujunga, United States  •  28 seconds ago Report Abuse

I do not condone the beating of anyone, for no reason at all. But you are all liberal corksoakers, with opinions as worthless as obama's word, how the US bred such worthless people is a testament to what freedom really means. I am thankful that your days and freedom are numbered and you can thank obama and his ilk for that. I pitty you in the days to come, you weak pittiful fools. You have about 3-6 months!

O B 17 seconds ago Report Abuse

gays r mistakes of nature---they should be destroyed 

Michele Hawker 3 minutes ago Report Abuse

Tell your son to toughen up and stop being such a whiny little girl. If he's gonna be "out" at 15(impossible really since they barely know what true sexuality is) then he should learn to fight back if he doesn't want his butt kicked every other day. But hey, let's just make it worse and have mommy get involved. At this age no one deserves such an a@@ kickin but If he's gonna choose to live an immoral life without values then he gets no rights. Besides that kid got punished so get over it mommy and let your lil girl handle it.

american vet.  •  Herndon, United States  •  3 minutes ago Report Abuse

she raised him so its her problem for not tell him he would grow in to a man one day this is really sad and no one is born that way yell if you wont to but why dont you ask gog what he thinks about this sick life style.

Ben D  •  Phoenix, United States  •  3 minutes ago Report Abuse

Parents should have taught the kid not to be QUEER....

jeremy  •  San Diego, United States  •  3 minutes ago Report Abuse

This is a result of gay propaganda in the media and the misguided reaction against it.It was wrong for the kid to get assaulted.The gay agenda is to destroy the traditional nuclear family, a known enemy of communism and the NWO.To all you homosexual apologists out there, you might as well admit your an enemy of the God of the bible who burnt the city of Sodom to ashes for it's acceptance of the gay lifestyle.The gay agenda also benefits the eugenics movement of the global elite.

Story about a pregnant woman being struck by a hit & run driver dying after giving birth:

p38lit 5 minutes ago Report Abuse

was she walking home or working her night job

JS 6 minutes ago Report Abuse

this stupid ape was jaywalking on a f,ing INTERSTATE. AT NIGHT. WEARING DARK CLOTHES. DARWIN wins again.

KaMs  •  St. Louis, United States  •  7 minutes ago Report Abuse

Great another baby taxpayers gotta pay for, you poor people need to stop breeding so much, your wasting us upper class peoples resources.

Pookie Sue  •  Davenport, United States  •  29 minutes ago Report Abuse

Yes, she was excited about being a Mom. Now she can suck the government teat for free housing, free food stamps, free healthcare and free education.

Occupy Wall Street

It has been going on for over three weeks now and I have been watching with much interest. It has grown and spread, not only through the states but now internationally. A real organic movement from the ground up with no leader but a clear objective, to put an end to the social injustice that our country hasn't seen the like of since the gilded age. I support this movement, I long to see the winds of change blow through our country, a country that has stagnated, collapsing into its own greedy corruption. The 1% who feel that too much is never enough. Who will never be satisfied until they have consumed the world and relegate all us regular folks to living like serfs. That goal is so close now as so many are uneducated wage slaves. We need to shake off the parasites who drain us of our riches, watch our suffering, then they sit back and blame us for our failure. Call us weak and lazy, when the 99% are the victims of the laws and policies that are stacked against us. Personally, the failure of our economy has affected my family peripherally. We lost our home and spent a combined 3 years unemployed. We managed to get back on our feet but I don't blame those who didn't for their failure. I am lucky. So many others aren't. Cruelty has become so rampant, we look at our neighbors as they go hungry or live on the streets and spit in their eye. Just go to any news article and read the comments and you'll see what I mean. The hatefulness is breathtaking, it is like taking a walk through the mind of demons. At this point the movement is still fragile. I am waiting for the violence. It could come from provocateurs or the police or eventually like the 60s, we could see our own troops move against our citizens. But I think this movement is stronger than the sum of its parts, the genie is out of the bottle. The disenfranchised us are finally realizing our one strength. The strength that can never be taken away from us, they can only make us forget. Our strength is our numbers, there are more of us then them. The lessons of history are being repeated. Will it be peaceful change like with the election of FDR or will it come with a guillotine? Only time will tell but I am glad to see it. I haven't felt this much hope in a long time.

Some interesting reading from those who write much better than I:
http://www.truth-out.org/occupy-wall-street-most-important-thing-world-now/1318340232
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-myths-of-occupy-wall-street-2011-10-11
http://www.sunjournal.com/columns-analysis/story/1100426
http://www.businessinsider.com/matt-taibbi-has-some-advice-for-the-wall-street-protesters-2011-10#ixzz1amJdDXyV
http://www.theprovocation.net/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-movement-poised-at.html

...And he's wonderful!

Tim Latimer: He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe. And... he's wonderful.  --From Family of Blood 3x9

This is the episode that is beyond normal episodic TV. It is beyond the best episode of the X-Files, Torchwood, Being Human, Mad Men, Fringe, Dexter, Life on Mars,  The Walking Dead, True Blood, and Spartacus. I say this because I am into TV. I have watched many shows from the mundane to the sublime. I like to believe that I have pretty good taste but I know that I do not always. I have the Biggest Loser and the X-Factor set to record on my DVR and all six season's of Dawson's Creek on DVD. I am not immune to TV that is just for fun. But Doctor Who is different, they say it is just for fun and for children, except they hit you with this when you least expect it.  It asks you if you could change something would you.  And how would this change affect the rest of your life?

I will not get too in-depth as I want this to be the last Doctor Who post. I almost wish it could be a dissertation for a college paper. I will just call out what made this so amazing:
--The boys with guns in their hands ready to fire on straw men even through the fear and as the tears fell. John Smith looking unsure with a rifle in his hands and the dawning horror on his face as he watches the children do battle. He himself never fires a shot and is as overjoyed as the children when they realize they have killed no one and he decides to have them retreat.
--After the TARDIS is captured and John, Joan, and Martha view it from the bushes for the first time. John starts to panic and reiterates that he has never seen it before (although once again you see the truth in his eyes). Joan gently reminds him that he dreamed of a blue box and wrote about it in his journal. His face collapses and he starts to cry "Why can't I be John Smith? That's all I want to be, with his life and his job, and...(here he turns and looks to Joan) and his love. Isn't he a good man?" God this is a hard scene and his anger at the choice he has to make starts coming out as he lashes out at Martha, this won't be the last time.
--Finally, they find safety in an abandoned house and here is where it comes to an end. John once again lashes out at Martha because she doesn't know what to do. He yells what is she to him, what does she do for him. She says she travels with him because he is lonely, and John asks why she would want him to become that. She can't answer. Here Tim comes knocking, saying the watch drew him here, it wants to be opened and says so beautifully what the Doctor is in the quote that opens this post. After the family starts to bomb the village, John grabs the watch, and for a split second you want to cheer as the Doctor finally comes though and talks for the first time. The joy is short lived as John's face crumples and he is gripped by fear, "Is that him, is that how he talks?"  Left alone John and Joan say a goodbye that neither will admit to. They both know what must be done. Touching the watch together, we see the last temptation of John Smith as a beautiful, normal life flashes before their eyes. A simple life of love and children and the relief as he dies of old age before Joan. That, finally, he is the one to leave instead of being left.
--We don't see him change but we know that the John Smith who enters the Families craft offering the watch, just take "HIM" away and leave the village in peace is actually the Doctor playing John and it is so. He punishes them. A chilling voice over and quick scenes of their punishments follow,  and then we follow the Doctor as Joan meets him for the first time. Another powerful scene follows. And then it has one more ending. You just need to see it for yourself. It really drains you with the power of it.

This episode just seemed to open up the writers to explore every heartbreaking aspect of the Doctor.

Donna Nobles first trip with the Doctor followed with this quote:

The Doctor: Some things are fixed, some things are in a flux. Pompeii is fixed. Donna Noble: How do you know which is which? The Doctor: That's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see: what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And I'm the only one left.

But she begs him, he doesn't have to save everyone, just save someone. PLEASE!

In The Next Doctor when he is traveling alone he admits that when his companions leave or he loses them that they break his heart. Maybe it is just easier to travel alone.

When in Utopia, I got so excited when I realized who Professor Yana was that I was jumping around the living room. I knew that John Simm (who gives DT a run for the money in the dishy department) was playing the Master but I did not know how he was introduced. Because of that I was delightfully surprised.

He has a heart to heart with Wilf in The End of Time, Part One. Wilf can see that the loneliness is tearing him up, that he is doing things, making mistakes that he wouldn't make if he had someone to care far. That Donna is so sad without him, even though she doesn't know why.

Scene after scene in episode after episode, he just breaks my heart the same way his companions break his. Just wonderful. As I was watching, marathoning huge chunks of it, I felt bad for those who had to wait weeks or months between episodes. Until now because that has come to bite me in the ass. Now, after only a few short months, I am not ready to say goodbye to David Tennant. I have yet to be able to bring myself to watch The End of Time, Part Two. I don't want to meet Matt Smith. I know I will. There are all new adventures for me to share with this new Doctor, but I will forever remember that David was my first Doctor in a way that none of the others were. I have been watching some of the older episodes and you can see where the well-spring is that David drunk so deep from. The melancholy, the back story, the depth of feeling, the emotion, the love of his companions, all there. It just needed the correct writers and the right actor to bring it life. So thanks David and Russell T Davies for bringing Doctor Who back to life... it has been a hell of a trip.

The Time Lord's Burden

Series Three started with the Doctor trying to go on without his rose. He has a rollicking adventure with a one of (at least here) companion, The Runaway Bride, only to find that a kiss awakens a sleeping beauty in Martha Jones, who dutifully follows her prince throughout the rest of this series.  Martha loves the Doctor, it is a useless love, like falling in love with the sun. It brings life and warms you but nothing you can say or do will make it love you back or even make it really see you. It doesn't break her though, this love, instead it makes her stronger.  There are some good episodes here. I quite liked Martha's introduction in Smith & Jones, we travel to Elizabethan England in The Shakespeare Code (which had a delightful call out to Harry Potter that had me giggling for five minutes), and we say goodbye to the mysterious Face of Boe and hear a secret in Gridlock.  So all in all, it was an enjoyable season thus far but nothing to write home about. Then they pulled out a two-parter that absolutely gutted me and which catapulted what was always a very good show into the stratosphere.  

I am talking, of course, about Human Nature/Family of Blood. This was a work of art, it is one of the best things I have ever seen on TV and that includes everything I have ever seen on TV (thank you Jacob for the words I couldn't find on my own). It starts out innocuously enough with the Doctor and Martha on the run from some nameless villain and then it changes. Suddenly, we meet a man named John Smith who wears the Doctor's face and his faithful servant who wears Martha's. It is 1913 and this place is a boy's boarding school in a small English village. John Smith is a headmaster and has strange dreams that tell of an extraordinary man who has amazing adventures in time and space. He writes these dreams down in a lovely journal filled with drawings and for the first time since the new series we see the faces of those who were the Doctor all the way back to the beginning. It is the circle. John Smith speaks slowly, is shy and stumbling with none of the grace or manic energy we have come to expect from the Doctor, he is a stranger.  As upper-class men of his time are wont to be, he is thoughtlessly cruel as he condones the beating of a boy named Tim Latimer. Latimer is special, frail and small for his age, but who can see things or just know things he shouldn't. He finds himself looking at a pocket watch in the Headmaster's room, a watch with strange designs, that contains voices that call to him, that show him a dangerous John Smith wielding a sonic screwdriver. Tim is confused by this and before he knows it he has stolen the watch. The school is disciplined and the boys are trained to fight with machine guns bigger than themselves. It is peopled with a young, entitled generation still retaining the glow of empire upon which the sun never sets. They don't know yet that all of it is about to blow away in a great conflagration made of mud and barbed wire. But, Martha knows. So things aren't quite what they seem.

It all becomes clear when Martha takes a bike ride to an old barn. She enters it and there sits the TARDIS looking sad, dusty and disused, almost forgotten. It makes Martha smile, all the racist slights and her status as a servant melt away. Here is freedom, here is the universe at her disposal but the man who controls the ride is gone. She enters and our questions are answered. The Doctor is in hiding as a human using the chameleon arch that rewrites his DNA and puts his Time Lord essence in a pocket watch. I found it interesting that when he was doing this he said he would set it to human, which means he could become anything with this device. Martha watches in horror as the man she loves screams in agony as his body is rewritten, who he is stripped away. His hurried instructions about how the TARDIS would give him an identity and pick a place for him to integrate flung out in an offhand manner. None of this for Martha though, she had to get by on her own as best she could, dependent on a man who does not know her or her importance, and worse yet her dependence on him. She watches the video left for her from her Doctor, last minute instructions, just to see him again. To remember who she loves. Now we see, we understand. John Smith is a disguise, the Doctor wearing a human cloak. But as the dreams leak through, we know the cloak is showing wear and fraying at the edge.

And then the worst and most wonderful thing happens. John Smith, this ordinary man with an ordinary life, falls in love, the one emotion that we humans encounter that is both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time . Her name is Joan Redfern and she is the school nurse. She is smart and kind, but with a shuttered vitality behind a plain face whose very plainness makes it all the more beautiful. She wants to know about John Smith, he awakens her again to love after her husband was killed in a war, ends the stasis she didn't even know she was living in. Her husband lost to another senseless war that churns up generations of men decade after decade, its hunger for human flesh never satisfied. He shares his journal with her, she wants him to ask her to a country dance, the hinting of such almost kills him as he tumbles down the stairs. But still it grows, a walk with Joan through the village, laughing and getting to know each other, and the Doctor peeks through, just for a moment. A baby is endangered by a heavy piano being lifted by a fraying cord. You can see the Doctor hidden but watchful, playing the future in his mind. A quick grab of a cricket ball, an expert throw, and disaster is averted. The Doctor saves the day again, but this is not the Doctor, this is John Smith, who is astounded at what he has just done. Giddy and excited, he is more than he thought, he is bigger on the inside, and this gives him the courage to extend the invitation Joan was waiting for. She would love to go to the dance as his escort.  He draws Joan's picture in his journal. It is lovely, he says that is the way he sees her, she is lovely. The intensity of the way he stares at her, makes me wonder if the Doctor were to stare at you that way, would it burn you up, could you stand it? They kiss, it is irrevocable . Martha watches it all in dismayed consternation, she can't look away. Her heart is breaking, how can he do this to her? The Doctor has no advice, he didn't even think of it as an option. Mistake number one, he didn't account for his human heart, only the DNA.

The family shows up, our villains. Deaths start occurring. A twit named Baines is possessed along with a portly man, a little girl (the red balloon she carries is the scary side of the transcendent red balloon of the movie of the same name) and Martha's only friend, Jenny. Martha has to save the Doctor, it is her imperative but the watch is gone. She is desperate and slaps him, he is angry and throws her out, saying never return. She is in the wilderness, but not lost, not her. She will find a way.  Part one ends at the dance. They tell John Smith that they want the Doctor. You can see in his eyes that he knows, even as his lips say that he does not know what they are talking about. A showdown, an escape and its over til part two.

I will finish this another time. This episode really inspired me and I have become quite wordy and this is only part one. As good as it was, part two is on a whole nother level.

What's your name? I'm the Doctor. Doctor who?

One of the main reasons that kept me from this newest Doctor was that I had heard that this one would have romantic interests. The Doctor previous to this had always been asexual and his companions were platonic. I thought doing this was a needless concession to modern culture which cannot seem to conceive of a man and woman who can travel together just as mates. I guess this would make me a purist in Doctor Who circles. The Doctor has traveled with many companions over the years and only one prior could it even seem hinted that he had more than friendship with and that was Romana II. But he was very close with some of the others most noticeably Sarah Jane Smith, Liz Shaw, and Ace who he became very like a mentor and father figure. Of all the Doctors, up until the supremely dishy Tennant, Peter Davison had been the youngest and most attractive Doctor. And still for the most part the show managed to be snog free. Rose changed all that. The beginning of series 2 saw how Rose reacted to the regeneration and her initial distrust of this new face of the Doctor. I really enjoyed the season but some episodes were stand outs. Including School Reunion where we meet Sarah Jane again and Rose see's the ghost of companions future.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Rose: I thought you and me were— Well, I obviously got it wrong. I've been to the year 5 billion, right, but this... Now, this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind. Is that what you're gonna do to me?

The Doctor: No. Not to you.

Rose: But Sarah Jane. You were that close to her once, and now you never even mention her. Why not?

The Doctor: I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay; you wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone that you— [The Doctor breaks off]

Rose: What, Doctor?

The Doctor: You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     For sheer comic relief, New Earth was great. The possession of both Rose and the Doctor by flat Cassandra was extremely funny. This is also the first episode that intimates that Rose feels more than friendship for The Doctor. Gradually throughout this season the Doctor and his companion grow closer than we have ever seen happen in the past. There is barely suppressed jealousy on the part of Rose and the Doctor towards supposed rivals in several episodes, but especially in The Girl in the Fireplace. Reinette seemed more than a match for The Doctor and he seemed to genuinely fall for her. It is never made really clear what made Rose so different from all of his past companions that when she was separated from him at the end of series two in the 2-parter Army of Ghosts/Doomsday that she would come to haunt his dreams and she was mentioned often much to his next companions consternation. Rose didn't hide her feelings for him and her parting from him was extremely painful for her and hard to watch. Especially moving was her tearful confession that she loved him and her mother running to comfort her when contact was abruptly discontinued. So at the end of season two, we find the Doctor alone again without his Rose. She seemed to have an effect on him that no other companion could match, which I still find strange because he hooks up with some pretty extraordinary women in the next two seasons in the form of Martha Jones and Donna Noble (whose season I have just started). I will move into season three in an additional post because there is one two-parter that just absolutely floored me and has inspired this series of posts.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               **I had nothing to do with the beautiful picture at the top of this post (except for having the good taste to use it) and I would like to credit the maker but cannot remember where I got it from. So please forgive me.**

I Can't Believe it Took Me this Long!

This is going to be a long post and full of spoilers. So if you don't want to be spoiled read something else.

 I finally decided to watch this show because I knew that Captain Jack and Torchwood was a spinoff  and wanted to see his genesis on Doctor Who. The reason I didn't want to watch it before this was that I was such a fan of the original series and did not want this to spoil it for me. I was introduced to its original incarnation around 1989. My mum was a Moneypenny to a bunch of engineers at Boeing and one of them was a huge fan of the show and had all the episodes he could get on VHS tape. He loaned them to us and just like your first Bond (for me Roger Moore), you always have a special place for your first Doctor. Since I watched them in kind of a mixed up order, a sprinkle of Hartness, a dash of Baker, and a pinch of Pertwee, I liked them all. Eventually I found myself with a special fondness for Davison but in the end it was Sylvester McCoy who claimed the honor of Karen's favorite Doctor. So when this newest one started showing up on BBC America, I gave it a miss. Until just a little over a month ago. Miracle Day on Starz got me motivated to sit down and give it chance and, boy, am I glad I did. This show is something and I have not been able to stop watching.

The one thing that all the Doctor's in his various incarnations carry with him is a crushing loneliness. Some hide it better than others but all his faces carry it within, an invisible pall of darkness around his hearts. Seeing all the death and destruction that his life entails, hundreds of years of it, the loss of his planet, his past, that is not hard to understand. I think it is his companions in the end that keep him sane and able to carry on in his travels through time and space. He certainly does not like being alone, that is made abundantly clear. His thoughts and memories must hound him, never allowing him a moments peace. It is only when he can share himself with another that he can fully function. He is such an interesting character with such a rich mythology, it sometimes feels that you will never get to the end of understanding just who this man is, nor would you want to. He can act so shallow, but sometimes there is a look, an incident, and you can feel the depths, so deep you could never reach bottom. If you did it would be like looking into the time vortex that is the heart of the TARDIS and the understanding would consume you. Leaving the Doctor alone yet again with those sad and haunted eyes. Reinette from "The Girl in the Fireplace" called him her lonely angel. Lonely he most certainly is, but he is more God than angel, an immortal Time Lord. And like a God he is vengeful, unforgiving, full of wrath, wielding time like Thor does his hammer or Neptune controls the seas. But, like God as well, the Doctor wears two faces to match his two hearts. He can be loving, kind, and generous. He will sacrifice himself to save those he loves only to be reborn like the Phoenix and start the process all over again.

So starting with the first episode "Rose" with Eccelstone, it felt like I was in for an adventure. And, it has not disappointed. I really liked Eccelstone's portrayal of the ninth Doctor. Charming, witty, ingenious (as all the Doctor's are) with a deep pathos of guilt as the only survivor of the time war and an occasional uncontrollable rage (that Tennant finally allowed full vent to) he was fascinating and not a little bit scary at times. The stories were fast paced, interesting, and I enjoyed Rose who was so lively and excited about everything she saw. My favorite episodes of this season was the two-parter "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances." Not just because we get to meet Capt. Jack for the first time but because the story was so compelling. That scene with little Jaime walking alone down the dark and empty street, so small and vulnerable, going to his room, brought tears to my eyes. In the end, when everybody lives and the way the Doctor dances around like a child at Christmas had me up and cheering. And when the truth of the Bad Wolf is finally revealed at series end and winds up saving the world but destroying the Doctor I knew I would miss him. I didn't know how I would feel about this new floppy haired version, the tenth doctor. But this was Doctor Who after all, if you can't stand change you shouldn't watch.

To Be Continued---Whew, I think that I will  break this into two parts and move on to Tennant tomorrow. As always, comments are welcome.

Man this has not been a good year.

Andy Whitfield is dead at 39. Died of a horrible disease right when he was coming into his own as an actor. He was the lead on a fantastic show called Spartacus. The show was fierce and fabulous, made the more so by his strong and mesmerizing performance. Plus, damn if he wasn't hot in a loin cloth. When I heard he had cancer, I was stunned. The same kind that Michael C. Hall from Dexter had and beat. So I thought for sure someone who looked so healthy would be sure to pull through. Not so and now he is dead. I was devastated to hear that they ended up having to recast him due to his illness but I was still sure that he eventually would be well again. I think the show will be diminished without him. But this is beyond that and I actually cried when I read the news. It may seem silly crying for a man I never knew but I do that for people who make my life more enjoyable for the entertainment they bring. Here he joins the ranks of Jim Henson, John Ritter, River Phoenix, and others. Many people decry Spartacus as all sex and violence. It had plenty of both to be sure. It was not just that. It was compelling television peopled with amazing characters. It made me laugh, cry, turn away in disgust and cheer. In interviews he seemed like a quiet, sweet, and soft-spoken man and he battled his disease bravely. His wife and 2 small children must be devastated. Life is so short it seems. RIP Andy, thank you for bringing Spartacus to life You won't be soon forgotten.

Just when you think it can't get worse...

 ...it does indeed get worser. You probably have not heard about it as it is not getting too much coverage in the media but there is a protest going on in Washington DC right now. It is well over a thousand people and they are practicing the art of civil disobedience. So far, 381 people have been arrested. What are they demonstrating about? Healthcare? No. The wars? No. Proposed cuts to Medicare and Social Security? No. These brave men and women are trying to stop Obama from ratifying something called the Keystone Tar Sands pipeline. Shut the front door, you say? What the hell is that? It is one of the dirtiest forms of energy that America exports from our neighbors to the North, aye. This pipeline would travel all the way across the US right through to Texas. It is an environmental disaster on so many fronts just waiting to happen. Not only will many of Canada's beautiful forests have to be destroyed to extract this monstrosity, the pipeline will chew up and spit out many of our beautiful natural areas, as well as being a huge bulls-eye for terrorists . There is so much wrong with this, surely our "liberal" hopey changey president could never approve something like this, as the ultimate yay or nay comes from his pen. So we can breath a sigh of relief, he never would, right? RIGHT?

What do you think?

The order giving permission was signed today. I won't go into all of the details. But I will give you the tools to research this issue yourself. Please sign the petition and get others to do it too. Let's spread the word. There are smaller groups in the affected states trying to stop this as well. They need to know that we support them. If you are interested please check out these links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/opinion/tar-sands-and-the-carbon-numbers.html?_r=2&ref=opinion
http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/fboreal.asp
http://dirtyoilsands.org/thedirt
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/08/09/obama-and-the-tar-sands-pipeline/

Here are a few of the faces fighting for us:

THANK YOU!!!

To my Gay Brother's and Sister's

I have been around gay people my whole life. My mother was a member of a gay choir in the early 80's and honestly, these wonderful people taught me how to be fabulous and it's due to their influence that I first really understood that not everyone was like me. Race didn't do it because I grew up in a world that was multicultural so seeing those who looked like me but were different was an eye opener. I learned not to fear differences but to embrace what they had to teach as did they. Not being gay myself, but loving many who are, I can never truly understand the hatred, discrimination and fear just being themselves engenders. It takes bravery being gay and it makes me so angry when it is called a life style choice. It is not a choice any more than being straight is a life style choice. The only choice is how you choose to live. Do you embrace who you are and live freely or do you hide? And it is sad that this choice can mean the difference between life or death. I still find it hard to believe that in 2011, being gay is controversial at all. That they still have to fight just to have the rights that being born an American should give you. I'm sorry, not being born an American, but being born a human being. Even though being gay has come so far since those who were arrested for it, or those ignorant sodomy laws or even Don't Ask Don't Tell, it still lives in a twilight world of almost being acceptable but not quite. We (at least the WE that the powers that be who dictate our tastes) don't want our action hero's or romantic leading men or women to be gay in real life. We, as the viewing public, are too stupid and can't separate fact from fiction (at least this meme must be believed so that granny in Missouri won't be offended or the good ol' boy in Georgia doesn't have to think of two men kissing, God forbid! ), so this means that many in Hollywood must hide. That public officials can still not be ridiculed into complete oblivion for their ridiculous statements (hello, Rick Santorum and man on dog sex but enough about his fantasies) tells me that we still have so far to go. Unlike race, those who are gay can hide if they so choose. There are whole institutions dedicated to getting the gay out. They promise that you too can be straight for God. If you just pray hard enough, it will all go away (See Marcus Bachmann for an example of this or Larry Craig, but I guess he's not a very good example). It is a choice after all. I don't know where I am going with this rant but I wanted to put my voice out there. There will come a time when we will look back on this as one more sad chapter of American history, like segregation, suffrage or slavery. I say that, because it is a civil rights issue. We all fight together for what we believe, which is equal rights for all, or we fail alone. 

Why I love Movies

We saw the Rise of the Planet of the Apes today and it really was excellent. It is why I love movies and the way they can transport me. I laughed, cried and cheered. The way Andy Serkis played our protagonist Caesar tells me that the powers that be need to step into the 21st century and add a new acting category of motion capture actors. He deserves to be recognized for his amazing ability to bring life to these characters. Every emotion was there in the face and eyes, no need for words. The way they set it up for a sequel has me counting down until it comes out. If you haven't seen it, I won't ruin it for you but it is definitely worth the ticket price and then some. The way the world is today it might not be a bad thing for the apes to take over, maybe they won't make such a mess of things. But it is movies like this that bring out the inner child in me. It is indeed magical. I even liked it better than the last Harry Potter. In fact, it is the best movie I can remember seeing in quite awhile. The previews made it look like an action movie but the story was in the smaller moments. The love shared between Will (James Franco), Charles (John Lithgow) and Caesar is the core of the film. It breaks your heart when you know that Caesars heart had been broken and there was no going back. This film made the apes the hero's and you wanted them to be free of the shameful treatment at the hands of men. The pacing was good and I didn't want it to end, even though I had an attack of the small bladder but was unwilling to leave my seat. Damn those bucket of 15 dollar soda's.

I have always been a huge fan of the original Ape films and have seen them all numerous times. So to see such a high quality reboot far superior to any of it's predecessors (with a wonderful shout out to the Heston film) is very cool. If they don't mess it up in an inferior sequel this could be a long running franchise. Let's hope so.

So You Think You Can Dance

This post is because this week is the finale and I'll have to wait til next summer to see it again.

I have had a love affair with this show for many years. This is one of the best talent shows on the air. Unlike the singing shows, this one really seems to seek out talent  instead of image and so many extremely talented individuals dance across their stage. I have loved dance my entire life. I can remember my first dance class as a six year old and being so proud of my powder blue leotard with my pink tights with the matching ballet slippers. All of the other girls were dressed the same and I was so excited I was bouncing around the room. Our first exercise was with the bar and I was the only girl who was so tiny that I couldn't get my leg up there and they had to bring me a chair. Unfortunately, lessons became too expensive for my mother to continue, so needless to say I am not a prima ballerina, but I still love to dance and to watch dancers. In fact, when I watch the show alone I will dance around my living room. The movie All That Jazz has that same effect on me. Plus, Cat Deely is such a fun host and every week I am astounded at how tall she is. I've never seen anyone even come close to her.

But, it is not just the extraordinary dancers, this show has introduced me to some incredible music. I first heard Lady Gaga on here (although she has become a pop art parody of herself), Sarah Bareilles, Caravan Palace, Janelle Monae, Estelle and just tonight Sia. I have heard of Sia before, she was one of the guest judges on The Voice but I never thought about her after that. But one of the routines this season was done to her song that was absolutely beautiful. I can't find the SYTYCD version to share here but here is a link to the song on You Tube. I know the song is a few years old but it is new to me and brought tears to my eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtM_cc4SPJI

The results for the 2011 winner will be announced tonight and I'd love it to be Tadd but they are all fantastic dancers and deserving of the title of "America's Favorite Dancer."

The Stand Casting Wishlist-Final Part (maybe)

I really hope that if they want to make a quality production of this book and really do it justice, they should keep it out of the theaters completely. There are four fine networks that have proven what they can do with the TV series. They can go with HBO, Showtime, Starz, or AMC. All of these make great shows. AMC already has the Walking Dead so they are good at dealing with a post apocalyptic world. HBO handled Game of Thrones brilliantly, Starz has Spartacus and Torchwood: Miracle Day under their belt and Showtime has done many wonderful shows. The production values are first rate and having it as an episodic series would allow them to flesh the book out and do justice to both the story and the characters. But that is just my opinion. Here is the rest of the actors and the roles I would love to see them play.

Lloyd Henreid - I know originally I chose Jackie Earl Haley for this role but I have since realized that he would be better as a different character because I still want him for this. In the book, when Lloyd is on trial for the murder spree he is called the baby faced killer. I like the actor Ethan Embry a lot. He was great in Freaky Links and Can't Hardly Wait. Even in his early 30's he has a baby face and this role would be unlike any he has played. This would be a good fit for him.

Trashcan Man - Of course Jackie Earle Hayley for this role. He is absolutely perfect for the crazy pyromaniac. The former Donald is a complex character, seen from bits from his past and how he is with the vicious Kid and it needs an actor that can play it not as a one-dimensional caricature but bring real depth and emotion. This actor has all of that. 

Susan Stern - Along with Dayna Jurgens, she was part of the rape caravan that was rescued by Stu's party. She eventually joins the council in Boulder and becomes a casualty of Nadine and Harold's plotting. I like Laurie Holden in the Walking Dead and think she would be good here as well. 

Leo "Joe" Rockway - I had a hard time with this one until last night when I watched a movie called Just Go With it (not bad by the way) and saw this actor. Griffin Gluck is the right age and a pretty solid little actor. He would make a fine Leo and his looks are close to how he is described in the book.

Well, that's all I have so far. I can't think of anyone else right now but that may change. As always your comments and cast suggestions are welcome.

A return to The Stand casting - Part 4

Since my last post about casting the new version of The Stand, I have done some thinking. I've come up with some new suspects to throw in the ring and also recasting an actor I had already cast earlier. I have been really enjoying this. I have been visiting other websites and looking at those ideas for casting, some I love, some I'm like "not really", others I'm like "have you even read the book?" But in the end it got me to thinking and I have filled in some important roles that I left out before. So journey with me once again into the fertile mind of SK and a post apocalyptic land.

Ralph Brentner - Good ol' boy. Sunburned, wearing a beat up cowboy hat and driving an old pickup truck. He is uneducated but farm smart and can fix anything. His introduction is picking up Nick and Tom on the rode after their near fatal run in with Julie Lawry. I always pictured him as older but long and lean with the squinty eyes of someone who spends a great deal of time outdoors. As a long time fan of Quantum Leap, I would love to see Scott Backula in this part. Plus he is so talented to boot.

Mother Abigail - The incredibly old black woman who brings all of the good people to her through dreams. First to her home in Nebraska and then eventually to Boulder Colorado. Every site I have visited always mentions Ruby Dee reprising her role as Mother Abigail but I wanted to think outside the box. Nichelle Nichols, of Lt. Uhura fame, is the right age (with a little help from makeup) and I think she is a good actress. It would be great to see her given the chance to break out of the type casting as a Star Trek veteran and really stretch her chops.

Harold Lauder - Starts out overweight  and covered in acne, he is the younger brother of Frannie's best friend. He is still in high school and has a huge crush on Frannie. He is insecure and hides it with pretension and obnoxiousness. When he is rebuffed by Frannie after she falls for Stu, he sides with the Walking Dude ending with tragic consequences. Another poster recommended Paul Dano for this role but he is too old but his looks made me think of another excellent actor who just had a feature role in the new X-Men movie and was so good in About A Boy, Nicholas Hoult.

Dayna Jurgens -Pretty, bisexual former PE teacher from Ohio. After Stu's party rescues her and Sue Stern from violent rapists she shows some interest in Stu much to Frannie's annoyance. She eventually heads out West with the Judge and Tom to spy on the Walking Dude. She never makes it home. She is an important character and her death is one of the first indications that evil will not triumph. I think that James King would be just fine in this role. Her looks are what I have pictured Dayna would look like and she is not a bad actress.

I have a few more to share tomorrow, plus the recasting decision. Once again comments are always welcome as well as your ideas for casting. I'm still looking for a Leo.

Book Review

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." 

I am reviewing a book that I have read before in another life. Fairly recently, we purchased book shelves, so for the first time in years I finally have most of my books out. Since, I have accumulated more since getting them, there is overflow but I have unpacked books that I haven't seen in years and even forgot I owned. One is the book I am going to review.  It was given to me by someone that at one time was a very important part of my life. He wanted me to read it because he wanted me to understand what he was going through. He felt very strongly that he was on a path but he wasn't sure what it was,  but that he was in pursuit of his personal legend. So I read this book in the hopes that I could gain understanding. That was then. Now I reread it with only myself in mind. I wanted to see if more mature eyes could make something new of it. Something that would help me right now by putting me in touch with the person I was so long ago that first picked up this story and still had hope for achieving my own personal legend.

In essence the book is a fable with healthy doses of deus ex machina. It concerns the fate of a boy named Santiago living in Spain during an unspecified time. He is a lowly shepherd and contented to be so until he has a chance meeting with a king who sets him upon a hero's journey to find a treasure. It is also a coming of age. During the course of his journey he meets a gypsy woman, a crystal merchant, and an Englishman. But none are as important than Fatima, the woman that he almost gives up his quest for. With the help and advice of the alchemist, of the title, he is able to reach his goal.

The treasure was not so much the riches at the end of the rainbow but the journey itself. It is what he learned about himself and others. That by not following your dreams is so much worse than the fear that you might not get there. By giving up on your dreams, by letting fear hold you back, you have doomed yourself to a lifetime of longing and a kind of existential death. The story tells you to open your mind to the wonders around you that will allow you to see omens and listen to and learn from the voice in your heart. Although this is a simple book, written simply it is for the reader to divine the message woven into the words. Each person will take from it what they will, or what they need. It is not a literary masterpiece, the characters aren't fleshed out enough to really get to know them or love them. But, it is appropriate for what it is. As you get older it is so easy to get absorbed into the minutia of life, to forget that it is wondrous and full of beauty if only you could see it. I like books and movies that remind me to open my eyes and my heart to the gifts that this life has to offer. That you are never to old to surprise yourself.  I doubt that I will ever succeed at finding my own personal legend, not even sure if I know what it is,  but I will try to never give up. This, as I said is a fable, and an effective one. It is a small book and a quick read but the lessons can last a lifetime.