So the trees are finally turning that special “winter” shade of green. Just thought I’d share that with all y’all still in Western Canadia. R:tAG’s got a feed on his blog that lets you compare the temperatures in S’toon and San Josey, and I see you have a heat wave going of -10 C. Heh.
Speaking of R:tAG, he’ll be in Edmonchuck in mid-December for a weekend. This fly-by is to renew his TN-1 visa. He has the choice of doing it at the border (i.e. taking a quick trip to Canada) which costs $50.00 + plane fare and takes maybe half an hour*, or renewing by mail which takes 2-3 months minimum and will cost over $1000.00**. Unhappily, I can’t take any more time off, or justify the expense, so he’ll be traveling unescorted. Look after him for me, ‘kay? We're starting to have more friends in Edmonton than we have in S'toon, sad to say.
We’ve just finished watching the new Dr. Who series (the 2005 season, with Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor) and jeez Louise is it ever good! I am sad that they have a new Doctor for the 2006 season (is that the policy? I actually was never a huge hard-core Dr. Who fan***) since I’ve got a bit of a fan-girl crush on Mr. Eccleston. But the writing is really good, the acting is excellent, the special effects are good**** and I am really looking forward to the second season.
Linkage:
Modular pie-cosohedron - Not to be confused with a dough-decahedron. Stuff like this restores my faith in humanity. Honestly.
Kansas Outlaws Practice of Evolution - OK, you probably saw this, but it’s funny. My absolute favourite part is too long to quote in full, but it’s the paragraph that begins "If Earth's species were meant to change…”
My next knitting project - Well, it’s crochet. And I’ve got too much stuff to do before Christmas to start this. But isn’t this tempting?
Keep warm!
* The Gods willing and the crick don’t rise.
** And he can’t leave the country during that time, which means that he might miss Al's wedding, which Would Not Do.
*** Wow. I guess it is.
**** But the story doesn’t rely on them. The effects are good enough to not take you out of the story (“You can see the zipper on the monster!”) but not at the expense of writing or acting. Yay!
Cmon, it's not like you company will still exist in two weeks anyway...though since neither of us expected it to survive an entire year...
Cmon...it's a weekend, you already bought a giant tv, what else were you gonna do with your money.
There's not really a new doctor every season, but I think David Tennant is #11. Tough luck with the TN-1. My renewal was supposedly about $100, but Apple takes care of all that stuff for me. Since it was sent in for renewal in June and still hasn't come back, that's a bit of a problem. Apple paid the $1000 for 'premium processing' this past week - supposedly that gets the results back to me in 2 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed!
Well, then I guess this is good news...
Christopher Eccleston is reportedly set for a recurring role in American science fiction drama Heroes.
According to the American magazine TV Guide, the former Doctor Who star will be joining the cast of the NBC drama in January. Details of his character have yet to be released.
Heroes, currently in its first season, revolves around a group of ordinary people discovering they have extraordinary powers. Earlier this year Eccleston was rumoured to have landed the lead role in Sky One remake of classic series The Prisoner, but this has so far proved unfounded.
If you're not watching Heroes, you should be. Best darn show on TV right now, IMHO
I think you should knit yourself into a knot at your next LARP.
Also loving the new Dr. Who. The Captain watched the second-season werewolf-and-Queen-Victoria episode with us. He's totally into the show, too. And while I also had the fangirl crush on Eccleston, I must say I am quite enjoying New Guy. And I agree with Terry about Heroes.
I am only hesitant because Terry also recommended Napoleon Dynamite. :)
But we'll check out Heroes like we check out all TV shows... when it comes out on DVD.
Oh, and Carl, Apple's probably big enough that they have immigration lawyers on tap. Cryptic doesn't, so they'd have to have paid lawyer fees as well as the renewal fees. That's what boosted the cost of the TN-1. And were you able to leave the US (and return!) while your TN-1 was being processed? They told R:tAG he couldn't...
*sputter* Hey, I said I enjoyed Napoleon Dynamite in part because it seemed more realistic than other high school movies. Sorry if the stark reality was too much for you... :)
But, y'know, I wonder if the fun of Heroes won't be missed in DVD form. One of the reasons I love the show is that they hide a lot of detail in the characters, in the actions. Part of my enjoyment of Heroes is thinking about the show during the week, going to the forums and discussing the particular meanings of various actions, guessing who is working with who and so on...
If I were watching it on DVD, I think you'd lose half of what makes this show great.
Nope, definitely no leaving the country. Actually it turned out not to be too bad, since it saved me from having to go to China over Thanksgiving. Now I really want to get it so my planned Christmas vacation will be possible.
I dunno... David Tennant is pretty good, but he strikes me as a little too cheery. I liked Eccleston because he was a little edgy. And hot, even with the big-ass English ears. And he had a dead sexy accent.
Probably won't matter, but just in case you care, all 11 episodes of Heroes that have aired are available online now...
http://www.nbc.com/Video/rewind/full_episodes/heroes.shtml
And no, this isn't some pirate operation. That's NBC that's making them available online...
EM: Chris Eccleston was totally hot. I thought he looked Ukrainian, actually. And I agree with you completely about the edgy.
We've been trying to find the 2005 Christmas episode on DVD (the first full episode with David Tennant) but Netflix has failed us. Woe!
Terry: Might check that out, then. We have to find a way to play stuff from the computer on our big-ass TV, though...
Re: Heroes - The guys at work keep talking about this one. I look forward to checking it out, but I'd rather just see it on Netflix in one go. Checking out weekly forums sounds too much like work for a TV series! :-)
*kaff* DVR!
I have that Dr Who christmas episode, remind me and I'll put it somewhere for you.
Thanks, Carl, but we found it on BitTorrent. I'm warming up to David Tennant...
"Chris Eccleston was totally hot. I thought he looked Ukrainian, actually."
You're only saying that because your husband is Ukrainian, aren't you? No, no, I'm joking. I mean, I know your husband is Ukrainian, and you're irretrievably attracted to him ...and... um. I'm going to start over, here.
Yes, Eccleston was edgier, and yes, New Guy is a bit *too* goofy, but on the other hand, I LOVE the sense of wonder New Guy brings. I'm not, however, entirely fond of the way Rose's character has changed. Anyway, by way of not wanting to spoil the rest of it for you, enjoy Eccleston. He was certainly the best part of season 1.