| Doctor Who speculation - Return of the Time Lords? |
[Jul. 7th, 2009|01:30 pm] |
I've suspected for some time that we'll see the Time Lords return over the course of the last three specials this year, or possibly at the beginning of Stephen Moffat's tenure next year. I have no real evidence for this, but it seems to me that they've squeezed just about all the dramatic potential out of the "last of the Time Lords" thing, and the only sensible thing now would be to bring them back.
So it's interesting to see that there's a feature on the official site all about the Time Lords and Gallifrey. Maybe this is just a bit of promotion for the DVD of The War Games, which plopped through my letterbox this very morning. But could it be possible this is also a hint at what's to come in New Who?
I hope so. I always liked the idea of the Doctor being a renegade, in self-imposed exile from his people. If he's the only Time Lord, he becomes the establishment. I like him better when he's a subversive, rebelling against the established order. And the scenes in Old Who where the Doctor berated the Time Lords for their stuffy non-interfering ways were always great fun. |
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| Torchwood - Children of Earth: Day One |
[Jul. 7th, 2009|10:08 am] |
I thought this got off to an excellent start last night. It was very "Quatermass meets the X-Files", but that's no bad thing. And it's clear that the five part format allows for more measured, intricate storytelling than the usual stand-alone 45 minute episode.
I liked the scale of it too - one of my problems with the first two series was that it all felt very localised. It was never epic enough for my liking. I never got a sense of the threat to humanity hinted at in the opening narration. Children of Earth has definitely opened things up a bit more, and the stakes are a lot higher too.
There were quite a few surprises, and an excellent cliff-hanger. I'll certainly be watching again tonight, and I've already pre-ordered the Blu-ray. :) |
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| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - spoiler-free review |
[Jul. 6th, 2009|10:40 am] |
We went to see this yesterday, and it was fun, but not quite as much fun as the first film.
It's the same sort of stuff again, so anyone who enjoyed the first film is likely to enjoy this. Although the first film had a sort of charm that this one lacks to an extent. I thought the humour in the first film worked really well, but here it's more on the level of humping dogs and people being tazered in the nuts. Plotwise, there's not much to talk about, but these films are not about plot, they're about huge robots kicking the crap out of each other, and there's certainly plenty of that.
Unlike the first film, this one seemed to sag a bit towards the end I thought. There was a loooong section of the film crammed with troops mobilizing, jet-fighters taking off, military types delivering exposition to each other, that sort of thing. It reminded me of the endless scenes of stock footage that were always used to pad out old 50s B-movies. The story doesn't progress, it just gets put on hold while we get to look at lots of military hardware.
After all of that stff, we get the final battle which is a bit of an anticlimax, as big final battles often are. Some of the earlier action sequences were more impressive to me, and the film has a hard job topping them.
Still, the effects are bloody amazing, there's enough mechanical mayhem to keep anyone happy, and Megan Fox is bleeding gorgeous (and wears some very tight trousers) so there's something for everyone. Well, everyone who has an inner 14-year old boy, that is...
It could have been about twenty minutes shorter, but it was a fun ride. And it'll look very pretty on Blu-ray. :) |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 3rd, 2009|05:51 pm] |
Happy Birthday ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) sylo_tode! :)
I would say that I hope you're having a nice relaxing day, but school's out, so of course you're having a nice relaxing day! :P |
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| Holyrood and the Search for Scotland's Soul |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|10:57 pm] |
Those interested in such things (and living in the UK - sorry everyone else, but the naughty Beeb don't share their vids with oversees folks) really ought to watch this excellent programme that was produced and directed by my mate Craig.
It examines the history of Scottish devolution and looks at the question of independence, as well as ruminating on the meaning of national identity. With detours to Oslo and Texas, and featuring a fleeting appearance from Boris Johnson!
Splendid stuff! |
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| Edinburgh's American Civil War Memorial?? |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|02:46 pm] |
El was working out in the city yesterday, when two American tourists approached her and asked if she knew where the statue of Abraham Lincoln was. She had to confess that she had no idea there was such a statue in Edinburgh. Neither did any of her co-workers. They had to apologetically send the tourists away, none the wiser.
El came home and told me about this, and I had no idea about the statue either, but a quick Google search revealed this. It's in the Old Calton burial ground, not that far from where El was working!
Sure enough, it turns out that Edinburgh is the only place outside of the USA to have a memorial to the American Civil War. I wonder how many Americans know about it. I'm pretty sure there are damn few Edinburghers who do.
Anyway, El & I will remember, and the next time either of us is approached by American tourists, we'll be a bit more helpful. |
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| A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|02:22 pm] |
Courtesy of the ESA, here is a cool new pic from the Herschel space telescope, showing galaxy M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy.
It's a composite of visible light and far infra red, so it's not quite what you'd see if you were close enough to look at it with the naked eye, but it does allow us to see the areas where star formation is most concentrated (the red bits).
What I love about this kind of technology is that it not only allows us to see vast distances across space, but back in time too. Since M51 is 35 million light-years away, that means this pic is a snapshot of what was happening 35 million years ago. And that's just damn cool, however you cut it. :) |
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| Destination America - Phase 3 Complete! |
[Jun. 30th, 2009|11:29 am] |
We have now booked our flights from Newark to Detroit and back again, and El has made our reservations at the Trump Tower, for the last few nights in New York. We've got a room overlooking Central Park. :)
She had abandoned that plan since the price took a leap upwards, but now it's dropped down a bit, and she's determined to have luxury. Who can blame her?
So, that's everything booked except the train from New York to New Jersey, but we'll sort that out once we get there.
Wheeeee! :)
ETA - Dates and times for reference!
Thursday 20th August - depart Newark 1.05pm, arrive Detroit 3.02pm
Sunday 23rd August - depart Detroit 11.15am, arrive Newark 12.57pm |
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| Internyaaaaaaarrrrg! |
[Jun. 30th, 2009|11:25 am] |
Sorry I've been around a bit less lately, but we've been having a lot of probs with our internet connection here at work. It starts off slow and flaky in the morning, and gets progressively worse as the day wears on. By mid-afternoon, it's as though we're using a crappy old gas-powered dial-up modem.
This makes posting, back-reading and commenting on other people's journals damn hard work. Many's the time I've typed out a comment only to get an error message when I try to post it. Needless to say, many pearls of scintillating wit and wisdom have been lost to the ether in this fashion, causing me to clutch my pulsating forehead and screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Hopefully the matter will be cleared up soon. But in the meantime, if I'm not as chatty on your journals as usual, it's not by choice! :(
ETA - And yes, I got an error message when I tried to post this! Luckily, I have learned now to copy my text to the clipboard before hitting that post button. It takes me a while, but I do learn eventually! :) |
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| Two more cultural icons gone |
[Jun. 26th, 2009|10:17 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
I heard this morning that both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson have died. Farrah at the age of 62, from cancer, and Jackson at 50, apparently from a cardiac arrest.
I wasn't a fan of either, but there was a time back in the 70s when Farrah seemed to be everywhere I looked. I was mostly aware of her thanks to her role in Charlie's Angels, her marriage to Lee Majors (I was a big fan of the Six Million Dollar Man) and later, in one of my guitliest pleasures - The Cannonball Run. She seemed like a nice lady and it's very sad that she lost her fight with cancer.
Jackson leaves me with a lot of mixed feelings. I think he was a deeply troubled man who might have received the help he needed if it hadn't been for his celebrity, and the weird hangers-on that he surrounded himself with. In a lot of ways, I think he's the modern equivalent of Howard Hughes. A wealthy and famous recluse, whose mental illness was indulged and exploited by those around him. Let's put it this way - if one of your closest friends is Uri Geller, then you have serious problems.
He was a huge cultural icon and he made some great records, but I think he was also an example of the negative effects that fame can have on a person. I anticipate an avalanche of tell-all biographies and interviews from those who were close to him. One way or another, he's a person who will be talked about for a very long time to come. |
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| Another possible hiding place for life in the Solar System? |
[Jun. 25th, 2009|11:15 am] |
I was interested to see this on the news this morning.
Alongside Europa (one of Jupiter's moons, for the non space-geeks) that's two possible places besides Earth where scientists think there might be liquid water, and liquid water is one of the major requirements for life as we know it.
So, I hope NASA gets some probes out there sharpish that can penetrate the surface and see what's underneath. I suspect that if life does exist on Europa and/or Enceladus, it'll probably be very similar to the kinds of life we find thriving around geothermal vents on our ocean floors. So, we probably wouldn't be able to invite these extraterrestrials round to tea or anything, but it would be damned exciting all the same! :) |
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| Nyyyyaaaaarrrgh! |
[Jun. 16th, 2009|03:16 pm] |
The damn midge bites from the weekend are driving me crazy.
I have many of them on both arms, but for some reason the ones on my right arm are much more itchy than the ones on the left. Maybe my right arm tasted better for some reason?
I took an antihistamine this morning, but it hasn't helped much. Running my arms under the cold tap gives temporary relief, but I really hope the itchiness wears off soon, because otherwise I might attack my skin with the cheese-grater when I get home. |
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| Pink eyes, burning like fire! |
[Jun. 10th, 2009|10:45 am] |
Arrrg! There must be a lot of pollen flying around in the air at the moment, because the corner of my left eye is itching like a bastard, and that's a sure sign. I have a pack of antihistamines that might have remedied the situation, but of course, they're at home.
I used to suffer really badly from hay-fever, but then I discovered that most of the problem was actually caused by central heating. These days I usually only need to use the antihistamines when I have close encounters with cats, but occasionally I get these hay-fever flare-ups, and get the itchy eyes of doom, like now.
Rubbing them helps for a nanosecond, but then it only makes them red and bleary, and the itching gets worse. I am trying to be strong and resist the urge. |
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| BNP in Brussels |
[Jun. 8th, 2009|11:00 am] |
This news worries me. A lot.
You'd think that as the 21st Century slides along, people would generally become more progressive in their thinking, and accept the fact that a more diverse culture is a stronger one. That segregation only leads to stagnation. Apparently, there are still a few people who don't get it.
It's slightly encouraging that the BNP actually got less votes in West Yorkshire than in 2004. So hopefully this is just the result of lesser parties benefitting from Labour's massive drop in popularity. But even if that's the case, it doesn't change the fact that the UK now has a couple of racist representatives at the European Parliament in Brussels.
I sincerely hope that this result isn't an indication that ignorance and fear are taking a stronger hold of the national mentality, because there could be very dark days ahead if they are.
It's a sad day for British politics indeed.
ETA - Now that the Scottish results are in,* I'm relieved to see that the BNP have gained no more seats on our account. Still, they got 27,174 votes up here. That's a scary number.
* I feel I should point out to folks who might not be clued up on the various political factions over here, that although they sound similar, the Scottish National Party and the British National Party are two very different organisations. The SNP's main aim is economical and political independence for Scotland. They don't have a racist agenda, like the BNP. |
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