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There’s other things besides Doctor Who

Marilyn — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:00:58 +0000

I know, you wouldn’t be able to tell it from this blog. Mother’s Day was this past weekend and I requested that Kile take me to see “The Great Gatsby” on Sunday night. I had read the book in high school, like a lot of people, but that was a LONG time ago and I didn’t remember all the details. I knew the major characters, I knew that I was supposed to be side-eying Daisy pretty hard, I remembered some of the visual things like the oculist billboard, the yellow car, the green light…

It was a great movie, I thought. But then, I like Baz Luhrmann movies. I have yet to see one that I don’t like, actually. But I also know that they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. His style doesn’t speak to everyone and while I enjoy it, some others might be turned off by how over-the-top he is. I thought, for a story like “The Great Gatsby”, that style worked rather well. And I was sucked right in. The visuals were stunning, the acting was entertaining (DiCaprio as Gatsby was INSPIRED) and the music was catchy as heck. What’s not to love?

Of course, it had a completely depressing end. Ah well. They can’t all be happy.

Oh but guess what? I am going to talk about Doctor Who. At least a little bit. Saturday’s episode was written by Neil Gaiman who is kind of a big deal unto himself and he wrote the only acceptable episode to air in series 6 (“The Doctor’s Wife”) so I had high hopes. It wasn’t horrible, but I didn’t love it either. Which was disappointing. And Eleven saying Allons-y I’m sure was supposed to make me happy but it made me want to hurt someone instead.

There was some stuff with the Doctor and a “Cyber Controller”/Evil Doctor that was really interest though. I get the impression that Matt Smith has been given more room lately to really spread his wings and that’s been great. I hope we keep seeing that. Watching him do *nasty* was downright fun.

The finale is this Saturday and EVERYONE I know is nervous about it. Apparently, some DVDs got shipped early to a few American fans so there’s a few small spoilers out there but so far, not much has been revealed. It’s Moffat though and he’s excited which means I’m going to hate it. I’ll let you know what I think about it after it’s aired. Fingers are crossed I don’t flip any tables.

Speaking of Doctor Who, I got some GREAT gifts for Mother’s Day this year! The kids got me a Visual Encyclopedia for Doctor Who, a TARDIS safe that’s controlled with my phone and a Dalek lego set. Aww. Liam had fun putting that one together for me. Kile bought me some shirts and, as I mentioned, I got to go see “The Great Gatsby”. I was spoiled yet again! Do I have a great family or what?

In which someone needs to get the hint

Marilyn — Mon, 06 May 2013 02:41:23 +0000

So… there was another new Doctor Who last night. “The Crimson Horror”, it was called. Horror indeed. Clearly, the fluke that was me actually LIKING “Rings of Akhaten”, “Cold War” and “Hide” was just that. A fluke. ”Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS” last week and this one last night were dull at best and problematic at worst. I’m hoping Neil Gaiman’s episode next week, featuring the cybermen, is a lot better. But I’m not holding my breath. Especially knowing that the following week is the series finale (that’s season finale, for you Americans out there) is titled “The Name of the Doctor” and is written by Steven Moffat.

I know of no one that wants to know the Doctor’s name. That’s part of the FUN of the show, not knowing his name. And while I don’t know if I really believe we’ll learn the name, I also would not put anything past Moffat and absolutely do not trust him. The upshot of this is also a downside, however. Because I’m not the only one who notices this and the ratings are starting to reflect it. The ratings have been slipping ever since Christmas and surely the BBC is taking notice. There has also been a lot of fandom backlash lately over reports that Moffat has said he doesn’t want the 50th anniversary episode to be a “fanfest” and that it’s about “looking forward, not looking back”.

Then, posts like this are becoming more and more common. More and more people are noticing the issues with Moffat’s version of Doctor Who and are complaining. And their complaints are VALID. I can only hope that the BBC will take notice and Moffat will be replaced before the show is ruined entirely.

Annnnnyhow… enough of that.

We saw Iron Man 3 this weekend. We all went to see it, the whole family. It worked out pretty well. Liam and Evie got a little antsy. Well, Liam more than Evie if you can believe it. I think that kid was born with ants in his pants. Evie just doesn’t like to sit still, so she’ll often stand or go sit on Kile’s lap or something. But she usually stays pretty quiet and doesn’t make much fuss.

The movie was GREAT though and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it was better than Iron Man 2, to be honest. I want to see the new Star Trek next. This is going to be a great summer for movies.

In other news, I can’t believe it’s MAY already. What the heck. That means the kids will be out of school soon and then what will I do?? I’ll have kids around all the time, driving me bonkers. It’s what they do best, after all. But the upside is I don’t have to go pick them up. Silver lining’s folks. And Evie will be starting kindergarten in August which kinda freaks me out, if we’re being perfectly honest. That’ll be very strange.

Yes, lets not think about that just yet.

Kile finishes up his classes this week, which means he won’t have that hanging over his head anymore. Or at least for the summer. He’s been so busy this year, it’s practically criminal. The poor guy needs a major break.

As for me, I just keep on doing what I do! You know me.

The Great Nerd Revival

Marilyn — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:59:18 +0000

Actually, can you call it a revival when they never really were terribly mainstream and/or accepted before? Ehh. Doesn’t make much difference because the point is: it’s a bit cool to be a nerd these days. Moreso than ever before. I gotta blame the hipsters at least a little bit for this one. While a hipster is not a true nerd and both nerds and hipsters alike would likely be horrified to be compared to the other, there are some slight similarities. That would be that neither group tends to follow the “common aesthetic”. They like what they wanna like, the more eclectic, often, the better.

Right now, the nerds are having a good year. Well, couple of years. I mean, stuff like this doesn’t happen overnight. But Doctor Who is a great example. A couple years ago, it was pretty much EXCLUSIVELY for the obscure nerd out there. Now, Doctor Who has hit the mainstream. Which, yes, can be frustrating for some of the hard core and/or Classic fans, but I think is just a symptom of a bigger phenomenon. Consider the success of all the comic book/super hero movies lately. Consider the revival of not only Star Trek but of Star Wars as well. Consider the way that we have a society have drifted towards social media and technology as a whole.

Exciting times to be a nerd!

Of course, nothing is ever ALL good. As things that were previously obscure become more mainstream, that means mainstream thinking makes it way in and it’s not always welcome. There’s been some hateful stuff in the last week especially in the Doctor Who fandom, because of the return of the character of Rose Tyler for the 50th. It’s upsetting to her fans, like me (since I would even be interested at all in Doctor Who if I hadn’t identified with her character to begin with), and it’s tremendously unproductive in the grand scheme of things. I’ll never understand hateful attitudes within a fandom, especially one such as Doctor Who that tends to promote non-violence, acceptance and friendship.

I guess that’s just a really long-winded way of saying, “CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG???”

Anyhow. It’s Friday and I’m grateful to have made it through another week. I can’t believe this month is already almost over. Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess? Is that I’ve been doing? Having fun?

Has it been a week? It’s been a WEEK.

Marilyn — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:11:29 +0000

And so we’re back to Tuesday again. This Tuesday doesn’t seem as irksome so that means all is right with the world. I like to think that part of that is because the boys are back at school. I can deal a lot better when they’re back at school, apparently. Picking them up in the afternoons is kind of a pain, considering I have to drive halfway across town and wait in pickup lines and deal with stupid people in traffic (and oh lord there are so many stupid people in traffic), but it’s not so bad. Kile says, “At least you get out of the house.” That’s probably the thing that’s LEAST in favor of picking up the boys. I prefer to think about how I get to listen to my music and read on my iPhone while waiting for the boys. Sure, I can do those things at home. But at least I’m not forced to leave the house and then INTERACT WITH PEOPLE. That would be terrible.

In other news, the business in Boston yesterday is completely deplorable. That should go without saying. To target a MARATHON is just awful. But I have two big thoughts about the whole thing that I want to make clear. 1) This isn’t “further proof that people” suck. I know I go on a lot about how I hate leaving the house and dealing with people but on the whole I believe in the greater good. I believe people are mostly GOOD in nature. Anyone who would set off bombs at a marathon is clearly messed up in the head. As is anyone who would shoot up an elementary school or a movie theater or any of the other awful things that have happened in the last year. But those people are the exceptions, not the rule. The people rushing to help, those far outnumber the people who wish to do harm. REMEMBER THAT. 2) This isn’t a political thing so don’t be using this tragedy to push your “team”. That’s completely tacky. STOPPIT.

Anyhow! On to happier subjects!

Doctor Who on Saturday was actually DECENT again. Not as good as the week before but that’s to be expected given a) it wasn’t written by Neil Cross and b) it was written by Mark Gatiss. Not to say that Gatiss is completely awful. He’s written one of my favorite episodes (“The Idiot’s Lantern”). But it wasn’t AWFUL either and that’s brilliant. Sometimes his eps tend to be a little on the boring side. This one wasn’t completely boring but it wasn’t completely absorbing either. BUT I DIDNT’T HATE IT. That’s a miracle. And the references for those of us looking for them were glorious. Such as “Hungry Like The Wolf” which is just a plain awesome song ANYHOW. And I still like Clara. This is crazy. Very much looking forward to this week’s episode as it IS written by Neil Cross and it looks creepy and wonderful. YAY! Exciting TV!

In general ME news… uhm…

Hmm.

OH. Broadchurch last night killed me dead. I can’t believe there’s only one week left. DYING. JUST NO. This is a great show. Being that its only in the UK right now, I have to download it to watch it but its worth the effort. I hope it’ll be aired on BBC America or something so more people over here can watch it. The ensemble cast is amazing and the stories are just gripping and Kile and I both are on the edges of our seats waiting to see how it plays out next week. We have a guess on who the killer is and I’m pretty sure I’m right but you never know with these things. Gosh darnit, I love good TV. I’ve been so spoiled lately.

So that’s me. I hope you are all doing fine.

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Post tags: chapter, favorite, Kile, rain, reading, school, stupid

Something is wrong with Tuesday

Marilyn — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:17:46 +0000

So normally, the day that I have it in for is Thursday. Thursday has never been a favorite day of mine and it’s less so these days since Kile has class in the evenings. Though if I’m going to be perfectly honest, that hasn’t been so bad. So its on me to put the kids to bed… big deal. I even get some time with the TV to pick what I want to watch. A little glass of wine and I’m good to go. I miss having Kile there but he comes home eventually and its all well.

The last two Tuesdays have been kinda rough though and I’m starting to give Tuesday some serious side-eye. Tuesday is generally a pretty good day. Because, as I learned when I joined up with Tumblr last year, Tuesday isn’t just Tuesday. It’s TENNANT TUESDAY. Which means that all over Tumblr, there are pictures of David Tennant. Like the above picture. That’s a good day, people!

I think the problem with Tuesdays is that a lot of people are having Tuesday related issues. And they bring those issues into my sphere of being and then I’m like… stop raining on my Tennant Tuesday. I just think everyone needs to take a minute and eat some fruit or something. We got some great shots of Matt Smith and Jenna Louise Coleman filming for the 50th in Trafalgar Square (they hung him from the bottom of the TARDIS and he lived to tell the tale… I think that’s pretty incredible, ngl). There was a little “script leak” that… who even knows if that’s the actual script or not? I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised if something like what was in the script happens but I have a hard time believing that that was it too. So whatever. Who cares. I don’t want to speculate cuz, come on. We have till NOVEMBER.

Mostly I’m feeling peevish because there’s some backlash about one of David Tennant’s next projects, “The Politician’s Husband” which will show up in the UK at the end of the month (and I’ll subsequently download cuz that’s how I roll). He’s not playing a nice guy and GASP OMG HOW DARE HE. He’s played a not nice guy before and we all survived that. Sit down and chill out, people. No one’s gonna make you watch it. Believe it or not: NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. *edited to add: yes I have seen Secret Smile! Two times even! Wasn’t he WRETCHED in that? Incredible.

What may actually BE the end of the world is how Broadchurch ended last night. That’s another British show, a miniseries in 8 episodes and last night was episode 6. It’ll eventually show up on BBC America, I’m sure, but I don’t have patience for that kind of thing. So I download it. Again: that’s how I roll. ANYHOW, it’s a murder mystery and the cast is fantastic and it’s pretty to look at and fascinating to no end. And if David Tennant’s character dies I will have a serious problem because I’m so worried, you guys.

Meanwhile, I’m surviving spring break. Now, whether or not the KIDS survive spring break remains to be seen. We’ll see if they can refrain from bickering and whining and otherwise driving me absolutely crazy. It’s only TUESDAY. There are so, so many more days to get through. I fear the worst.

Wonders never cease

Marilyn — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:23:02 +0000

So now that I’m not even pretending that this blog doesn’t talk about “Doctor Who”, I’m going to talk a little bit about how Saturday’s new episode, “The Rings of Akhaten”. It was the second episode with the new companion, Clara. And I know I just did a big ol’ post about how I miss the way the show used to be and the show under Moffat’s direction hasn’t spoken to me but…

WOW.

Neil Cross wrote the episode and he’s new to Doctor Who. Lucky for us, he’s doing another episode here in a couple weeks. YAY. THIS IS GRAND NEWS. Honestly, if his next episode is half as good as Saturday’s was, then I’m going to lead the “NEXT SHOWRUNNER” rallying cry. Because “The Rings of Akhaten” was an excellent episode and had so much of what I miss on that show these days. Fantastic characterisation, compelling plot, genuine emotion. That’s the big one.

Everyone said that when the Ponds, the former companions, left back in the fall, that it was going to be this huge tearjerker. News Flash: It wasn’t. Oh, I could see that they WANTED us to cry. But I was too busy feeling annoyed and manipulated by the plot to feel sad. And I’d never really had the chance to connect with the Ponds in the first place so… nice try?

But Saturday night, we saw Eleven act like the Doctor and it was AMAZING. I knew he had it in him. He just needed the right writer to give him the right scene and the right words and … *shivers* That was fantastic. See that little picture up there? That’s the Doctor in his element. I haven’t really seen it like THAT since the Tenth Doctor and I was watching on Saturday with my mouth hanging open. GLORIOUS.

I also really enjoyed the alien marketplace stuff at the beginning, that was just so well done and so delightful to watch and I was grinning like a fool and going “WOW, I am loving this episode.” And Clara! I dare say I like her. We’ll see what comes next but I’m cautiously optimistic.

And it gives me some hope for the 50th Anniversary, which is always a cause of worry. But I didn’t *hate* last week’s episode (which was written by Moffat) and I genuinely LIKED this one. So maybe there’s a chance! Fingers are definitely crossed!

In other news around these parts: nothing is going on. The kids are on spring break this week which is both good and bad. Good because Kile doesn’t have to shuttle them to school in the morning and I don’t have to do school pickup. Bad because they’re HERE and there’s liable to not be much peace to be had the rest of the week.

Evie is signed up to start Kindergarten at Coral Academy in August. GULP! It’s likely Liam will have to repeat the first grade, which is any big surprise to any of us. He’s smart enough but he’s rather immature emotionally and then there’s the whole TURN IN THE HOMEWORK deal that he doesn’t quite do yet. Then again, neither does Harry and if he doesn’t get his act together, he’ll be doing seventh grade again too! KIDS.

But seriously, things here are fine. Kile’s taking master’s classes and working, I’m doing my thing. The kids are groovy. Life is fine. AND DOCTOR WHO DIDN’T SUCK ON SATURDAY. What is air??

In which I stop pretending I don’t care about Doctor Who

Marilyn — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:34:40 +0000

Over a year later and I’m still very much interested in “Doctor Who”. I think it’s time to stop acting like a) that’s not a large part of what I’m about right now and b) I shouldn’t have it on this blog. Let’s be real here for a moment. If I don’t post about Doctor Who here, then I’m liable not to post ANYTHING. If you doubt the truth of that, lets take a look at everything I’ve posted here in the last year.

Mm hmm. Yeah.

The thing is, it used to be that I could say “I’m a Doctor Who fan!” and leave it at that. And for a while, that was mostly true. Any mention of Doctor Who was a good thing, because let’s face it, it’s a somewhat obscure show. But it’s not as obscure now as it used to. Shoot, even the difference between this and last year is startling. A year ago, most Americans would go “huh?” at any mention of the Doctor. Now? It’s been on the cover of Entertainment Weekly TWICE and the cover of TV Guide. Doctor Who is becoming VERY mainstream. Part of that is the show itself, part of it is the rising popularity of British television. Sherlock anyone? Downton Abbey? Merlin? Even BBC America (a channel that I have a cautious truce with… they give me some good stuff but I disagree with many of their choices and OMG LOOK AT WHAT I’VE BECOME) is becoming more of a THING. With it’s own special programming and the Nerdist is a great show, you should totally watch it. Even if Hardwicke does fanboy over Moffat a little more than I care for.

And see, that’s the thing. Moffat. If you don’t know, Stephen Moffat is a writer. And right now, he’s also a showrunner. He runs Doctor Who and he, along with Mark Gatiss, runs Sherlock. He’s written other things, shows and even worked on movies. But to me, he’s rather like Satan. I didn’t come to that decision lightly, of course.

Nowadays, I can’t just say that I’m a fan of Doctor Who and leave it at that. I have to specify. I’m a fan of series 1-4 (plus specials! can’t forget those…), not of the whole of “New Who” (as its referred to since it was revived in 2005). Because series 5-7 (well, 7 so far, we’re still smack in the middle of that one) have been considerably less enjoyable for me. Let’s put it this way: I doubt I would be here now blathering on about Doctor Who if I hadn’t seen series 1-4… if I had just started with series 5. Maybe I’d like it a little? I like to doubt it but you never know. But I do know that I wouldn’t be THIS into it.

Series 1-4 is often referred to as the “RTD Era”. That is because during those series, a man named Russell T. Davies ran the show. He’s the one that brought it back from the dead, actually. It’s arguable that if not for RTD and the success he had bringing Doctor Who back to the masses, there would be no Moffat. RTD had a very different way of doing things than Moffat does. And it’s not just about effects. RTD had a very small budget, comparatively, to work with. And so he focused on character driven plots and stories with emotional connection to draw viewers in. The characters grew and sizzled and became real and you cared about them. Some of the best episodes had little to no effects or “flash”. ”Midnight” is an episode from series 4 that haunts me each and every time I watch it because it was played SO perfectly. The most memorable moments of series 1-4 are ones that are charged with emotion. Rose crying over her dying father in series 1. A tearful goodbye on a windswept beach in series 2. Impassioned pleading from a scared (and suddenly human) man in series 3. Saying goodbye to a best friend who doesn’t even remember who you are in series 4. Finally snapping and claiming that he is the winner in the specials. THESE are the moments that make you a fan of this show.

For me, and for a lot of people, series 5-7 lacks a lot of that emotional resonance. The character of the Doctor isn’t as intriguing as he was. The companions are less real, somehow. But the effects are nice and flashy and everything is shot in beautiful HD. And with all that flash and all the marketing coming from the suddenly burgeoning budget (thanks for that, RTD, without him they’d still be on a shoestring), it’s easy to ignore that Moffat is reusing a lot of the same tropes over and over. Like meeting women as children and then flirting with them as adults (often in the same day for him which is… eugh… CREEPY). There are essays upon essays out there about how Moffat’s writing is dull and unimaginative at best and problematic at worst. It’s very… frustrating. As a fan of the show, to watch the show devolve this way.

But that’s the beauty of Doctor Who, isn’t it? Everything is always changing. Here in a (hopefully) short while, Moffat will move on like RTD did in 2009 and bequeath the show to a new writer. We’ll get a new Doctor and hopefully there’ll be something I can enjoy again. I’m still watching, there’s a new episode on tomorrow night in fact, because I do love the SHOW even if I’m not wild about the direction it’s taken. I always have hope, even when it’s foolish. And I try not to let the things that bother me (and oh, how many things BOTHER me).

I’ve been kicking around this post for a few weeks actually. Just wasn’t getting around to it. And then last Saturday a bomb dropped on the Doctor Who fandom. See, this year is the 50th Anniversary of the show. On November 23, 1963, Doctor Who first aired in the UK. This whole year is a celebration. Merchandise and specials on BBCA (each month they air a new special about a different Doctor, each corresponding to the month in question… March was the Third Doctor and oh lord, Three was lovely) and a special episode to cap it off in November. Speculation has been rampant for the last YEAR (or more!) about what the 50th would include. Who would return to the show to delight us? Of course, my little sliver of fandom was both hoping for David Tennant (who played the Tenth Doctor) and Billie Piper (who played his companion, Rose Tyler) to return, but also dreading it because Moffat does not have a good track record. Well on Saturday, it was announced that the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler would in fact be returning for the 50th. Filming began on Monday and I swear, each day this week has seen a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

I feel better now than I did on Tuesday. Tuesday was a hard day. (And this is when I wonder if I’m a little too invested in this.) For the most part? I’m hopeful. Nervous as hell, but hopeful. Today the big news was that Christopher Eccleston wouldn’t return. Which… I never rule out a cameo. The BBC and it’s actors are a bunch of filthy LIARS about this sort of thing and it would be just like them. But I’m also not as upset about it as some of the other fans are, if it is true. Mostly, the picture of David Tennant at the table-read with his trademark Tenth Doctor sideburns on Monday was the highlight for me.

So I don’t know why I’m posting this. Most of you probably don’t even care. But on the off chance that you DO care, I wanted to be clear about where I stood on all of this. And expect to see more in the months to come, because I’m done pretending. Doctor Who is my life. This is my blog. It’s time you two met properly!

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Post tags: 50th anniversary, best, blog, Doctor Who, in which I am insane, Monday

I promise I’m not trying to avoid this blog

Marilyn — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 05:27:03 +0000

I spend a lot of time over at Tumblr. You all knew that already. I blog things there constantly but they are of no interest (or little interest) to anyone who might stop by here on occasion. As for news outside of all of… that… there’s just not much to say.

Let’s see, the boys are going to school. I am picking up on Tuesdays and Thursdays this semester and every other Friday. Except its every Friday here for a bit because of stupid reasons. And it might be Mondays too because of yet more stupid reasons. And I’d like to know if the University insists on bringing up these stupid reasons, are they going to reimburse the cost of gas? Because holy moley. That’s a lot of driving into town and back with the gas hog just cuz someone at the University is having a hissy fit.

Evie is Evie and she’s a doll. She has her moments of course, but for the most part she’s pretty chill to deal with. The worst she does is she’ll have these nights where she can’t settle and then I have to threaten to take away everything she loves if she wakes me up ONE. MORE. TIME. But still, pretty cute and pretty easy to deal with.

Kile is a big ol’ ball of stress these days, poor guy. He’s not happy and it shows. He comes home unhappy, he spends the weekends unhappy and its frustrating because there’s nothing I can do to make him happy about his work but there are things I can do to try to make it easier on him around here so I’ve been trying to do that. He’s just got a lot of stress going on and I’m hoping that it all evens up here pretty soon. Because I’m a mood sponge and I can be in the best mood but if he comes home and is a little thundercloud, I’m going to be a little thundercloud too. Every. Time.

Let’s see… Beetoe is getting to be an OLD dog. She’s been exiled from sleeping in our bed because there were like three times in the span of a month that I woke up in a puddle of her PEE. Three strikes you’re out, dog. We got her a fancy dog bed and set up her kennel. She hates it of course, and most nights I have to shove her in there forcibly. But we’re all sleeping better and I think she probably is too.

As for me, there’s no more MOPS. I forget exactly why they canceled it this spring. I think it was because people were too busy/stressed with it? But it’s gone now and I don’t have that social outlet any longer. I won’t be able to go back next year because Evie will be in kindergarten and that’s the cut off. So whatever. I get out to pick up the boys several times a week, so at least I’m leaving the house. And I fulfil a certain amount of the social thing by hanging out with other obsessed geeks like myself. I say that with all fondness, by the way.

I’ve been writing! Like… a LOT. I did NaNoWriMo, as I think I mentioned before. I also just finished a 70k+ word story this week. It feels SO good to be writing again, you have no idea. I missed it. I’m also reading a lot but that sorta goes with the territory. I need a new story to work on and I have a couple ideas but I don’t know if any of them have REALLY grabbed me or not. We’ll see. I also have over 1.6k followers on Tumblr. o.O How’d that happen? I’m quite certain I don’t post anything that fascinating. But there it is.

I will try to post again soon. There is stuff to talk about. I could mention the Oscars which I loved or the Lizzie Bennet Diaries which are AWESOME or how utterly wicked that finale for Downton Abbey was (predictable but WICKED). I might have to do that. Remind me, Internet! In the meantime, enjoy the pretty.

Farewell to 2012…

Marilyn — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:31:40 +0000

I meant to post something last week about how it was a blogging anniversary of sorts. Counting the years gets kind of scary so I’ve sort of stopped doing that. But it’s been a while since I started this here blog. I didn’t post because life and you all know how that goes. So just imagine that I said something about “wow, how things have changed since I started blogging, blah blah blah,” okay?

Right now I want to focus on the end of the year stuffs. I can’t believe 2012 is already over. This was quite a year, a big year for me personally. I was just looking back at my post from the end of last year and am reminded of how awful 2011 was and I feel even MORE glad that this last year was so good.

For one thing, much less tragedy. Oh, there’s definitely been tragedy in the world and strife and war and famine and horrible things. But it doesn’t seem quite as close as it did last year. We also have much less money this year. But that didn’t seem to make this last year any less pleasant so I’m thinking money can just go take a flying leap because it’s presence doesn’t guarantee happiness. It’s absence certainly doesn’t make things terribly wonderful but life can still be good without it so I think that says something. I, myself, am MUCH happier and healthier and better off than I was last year. I found my happy place this last year and I’m not entirely sure if I can pinpoint that to one specific thing. Taking my thyroid meds certainly has helped. Doctor Who has also helped. And maybe I was just tired of feeling sad.

So let’s look at pop culture stuffs! Since that’s what I talked about last year, it seems fitting to do it this year as well.

Music of 2012

My BIG song of the year? That’s a tough one. I had quite a few. I think if I had to point to ONE, though, it would be “Some Nights” by Fun. I absolutely adore that song. It’s stirring and inspiring and I can’t help but sing along whenever I hear it. But it is jostling with a host of other songs that I loved this last year, including:

“We Are Young” by Fun. (of course!) – same goes, gotta sing along, very stirring.
“Starships” by Niki Minaj – this is a dance-y song! Don’t be hatin’, I love this one.
“One More Night” by Maroon 5 – I can’t explain my love for this one. No wait, I *can* but I don’t want to.
“Glad You Came” by The Wanted – Catchy.

There’s also songs that meant a lot to me this year that either did NOT come out this last year or that I’m not sure if it was this last year or 2011. Those songs include:

“The Scientist” by Coldplay – this is a new absolute favorite. Piano, guitar and absolutely HAUNTING lyrics. Love love love love this one.
“Cosmic Love” by Florence + the Machine – I love Florence and this is my fave of hers but that’s saying something because I have like 5 favorites of hers and its a close race.
“Run” by Snow Patrol – UGH UGH UGH. Perfect song.

This is but a nibbling of the songs I’ve loved this last year. Really, its been a very musical year for me, I’ve found it so inspiring… in a way that I haven’t in a long, long time.

Television of 2012

Oh you had to know this was coming! Obviously, topping this list is “Doctor Who” but you might be surprised to hear that its not the most recent episodes of this show that I love. That’s because back in 2010, the show changed completely and while its not HORRIBLE, it’s not the way I loved it. My favorite are the shows that aired from 2005-2009. That gets hard to explain around people who don’t even know what the show is ABOUT. So mostly I just smile and say, “I love Doctor Who” and let them make of it what they will. I’ve been amazed, actually, at how much public attention the show has gotten since I started watching. It would appear I’m not the only one to be caught by this one! I expect to see that continue this next year since 2013 is the 50th Anniversary of the show. I expect by this time next year I’ll still be grousing over what I think went wrong with the Anniversary specials (since we know there will be specials, we’re not stupid).

But what else did I like watching this last year?

“Once Upon a Time” – oh lordy… this is a great show. Its like fairytale AU and I love it even with its overly complicated plots here in season 2.
“Sherlock” – I discovered this one this last year too and its a great show. I feel very bad for its devoted fans tho, having to wait so long for series 3.
“Downton Abbey” – a show I never expected to enjoy and neither did Kile but yet we were both sucked in entirely.
“The Walking Dead” – I don’t want to love this show but its just so… DISTURBING AND WRONG. I can’t look away.

HBO kinda fell from favor with me this last year. I didn’t enjoy the usual shows as much as I have before. I didn’t even really dig “Breaking Bad” as much as I have in the past (hopefully that’ll change when it comes back this spring).

Movies of 2012

I haven’t been to the theater too much this year but perhaps more than I was able to the year before. I’d say my favorite theater movie was “The Avengers”. I mean, COME ON. Joss Whedon directing a cast of amazing super heroes? NO CONTEST. And it had Loki, played by the adorable Tom Hiddleston. There wasn’t anything not to love about that movie. Also of note:

“The Artist” – saw this one on our Oscar movie stroll and LOVED it.

I really didn’t see a lot of movies this year and I didn’t get excited much about what I did see. But somehow I don’t feel very bad about this.

Books of 2012

Okay, look. I didn’t read a lot of books this year but I have been reading a LOT and writing a LOT as well, so that should count for something. But if you’re looking for a book recommendation, I gotta say Jenny Lawson’s “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened”. And let’s PLEASE try to forget E.L. James’ “50 Shades of Grey”.

So that, as they say, is that! The year in a very compartmentalised nutshell! I’ll try to be back tomorrow to discuss resolution type stuffs. Everyone have a happy and safe New Years Eve. Have one for me.

What I mean when I say I’m an anglophile

Marilyn — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:35:12 +0000

I saw this post on Tumblr this morning and it made me think. I think what the post author said is true for a good number of self-proclaimed anglophiles on Tumblr… they love Sherlock or Merlin or Doctor Who and think that’s the sum-total of British life and therefore, they love it the most.

I don’t think the same can be applied to me, not exactly. True, shows like Doctor Who opened my eyes more to British culture. But neither can I claim that it’s the first thing about the U.K. that I loved. ”Love Actually” has been one of my favorite movies (if not my most favorite movie) ever since I first saw it. I’ve always enjoyed “British exports” such as Harry Potter and Monty Python and the like but so do a lot of other people. I don’t think like British TV shows and movies automatically makes you an anglophile. I also don’t think that they have the BEST of everything. Plenty of my favorite TV shows and movies have come from America. I adore Lost to this day, as many of you probably well remember. So many of the series on HBO are simply amazing and incredible. Breaking Bad is sublime and if you haven’t given it a try, I recommend you look it up on Netflix and watch it because it is SO VERY GOOD. I’m also well aware that there’s “turds” on British TV as well. Of course there is! Why wouldn’t there be?

I love British candy and a lot of different British foods and drinks. I don’t love them because they’re British, but rather because of how they taste. I like the lack of high fructose corn syrup and the most natural flavorings that are used. Strongbow is my favorite hard cider. I know there’s more “quality” cider out there, much of it made here in the States. But I know what I like and I like that. I also think there are some British foods that are downright sketchy. It starts with Mushy Peas and goes right on through black pudding. That said, I love cottage pie and bangers and mash and British mustard and malt vinegar on my chips. I just like the way all those things taste. It’s right up my alley.

I enjoy the accents, of course, and that’s not just limited to London. Just a year ago, I probably couldn’t have told you a London accent from a Northern one from a Welsh one. I couldn’t tell Scottish and Irish apart and when it came to different London-area accents? FORGET IT. I’m not perfect at it now but I have a better grasp on what makes Estuary sound different from Cockney and how both are different from Northern London accents. I can tell a Manchester accent from a Liverpool accent and ADORE them both. I’m even not only able to tell Scottish from everything (as it is my favorite of all the accents), but am starting to be able to pick out the different Scottish accents (such as how Glasgow accents sound different from accents in Inverness and those areas). The point is that I love listening to these accents and learning what makes them different from one another. And I could listen to a lot of these read the phone book to me and be perfectly happy.

I love many things about the U.K. I know it’s not a perfect place and that is has plenty of political and economic problems, but I still enjoy the history and the culture and the people who live there. I think that’s what it means to me when I say I’m an anglophile. It means that I am drawn to British things and enjoy them for what they are. I don’t view them as superior to their American counterparts (well, maybe the candy is), but just different and I really dig those differences.

For some greater insight, be sure to check out these YouTube vloggers because they are endlessly entertaining (those are just my favorite two, I’m well aware that there are more). Basically, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I really dig British stuff. I want to ruffle it’s hair and pinch it’s cheeks and make fun of its foibles all at the same time. So again: not superior. Just different. But different in a rather fabulous way. And let’s face it, aren’t MOST differences just kind of fabulous?