Kaitlin

John Simm as Caligula (from a TV movie/series about Nero) ... it's basically the Master in a toga.

- exiling Agrippinilla
- establishing the horse Incitatus as senator
- the soldiers of Rome finally call 'shenanigans' on Caligula's crazy ass

I haven't seen the rest of the series (I heard it was kinda "meh"), but this particular bit of casting is awesome. I wish he had more of a role in the series (I think these clips are the only scenes he's in), I think he could've done an interesting job with the different stages of Caligula's life.

(the icon is also Caligula, played by John Hurt, now barely advising the title character on "Merlin". Damn, but that is one unhelpful dragon)

Thursday afternoon we picked up a new dog, a pit/maybe lab/maybe hound/maybe who knows mutt puppy named Sam. Our other dog Luke, who was a rescued stray from the Bahamas, has always been incredibly reserved and nervous with people (he's barely ok with me and my parents, and he's terrified of my poor brother and anyone else he sees), but's always excited to be around other dogs. We figured a puppy would bring him out and that he'd be happier with a packmate ... plus, I know Ryan especially wanted to have a "normal" dog, one that wasn't terrified of everything and always hiding. So far, it's all working out really well - Luke's cautious but completely fascinated by Sam, following her around the room and starting to get the hang of playing with another dog; and he's also much more affectionate and relaxed with us (he still barks and growls like crazy at anyone else, but it's still a huge step for him to be taking treats out of my hand or letting my brother pet him, so it'll take him awhile). And she's suuuch a little cutie - her face has some pitt features and some hound-looking qualities, and she's got a sturdy little barrel-body with tiger stripes across her back and a thin whippy tail (which is pretty much the exact opposite of Luke's fluff and brushy tail). She looks like she may grow up to be bigger than him - she's got huge feet and she's big for a 9 week old puppy, but still small enough to be a lap dog for now


aw, my dogs

I had a brilliant Halloween this year. Kristin came down from Binghamton and she, Mar, Ryan and I went into the city to see/be in the Greenwich Village parade. I dressed up as the Fourth Doctor (one lady recognized it, but otherwise I think people thought I was Indiana Jones with a ridiculous scarf), Ryan busted out his Mandalorian warrior gear for the first time (ie Boba Fett guy ... he's planning on joining a group of roleplayers who do Mandalorians, kinda like that 501st stormtrooper thing, and this was the beta test of his armor), Kristin had a great Harley Quinn costume and Mar was a Fancy 20s Lady. We didn't actually end up in the parade - after over an hour of standing in the rain in the crowd that was waiting to be eventually allowed to join the parade, we kinda just said "screw it, let's pub crawl". Ryan left after a bit - his Boba Fett Man thing looked really cool (a ton of people took his picture), but apparently was wicked uncomfortable to wear. The three of us just kinda wandered around the village, popping into bars, and checking out all the costumes. ( cut for length )

Right now I just have a handful of pictures I took before I left for the city ( ... click for costume and pumpkin pics )

Kristin has a lot more pictures from the whole night, so I have to get her to send those to me

- I started this video awhile ago, when I was still at the first apartment we had in Binghamton (so like a year and a half ago), got halfway through and abandoned it ... blew the dust off it this weekend and finally got it done.


Song: "Smash it Up" by the Damned
Fandom: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

I included footage through episode 5x06, so spoilers for the new season, I guess

(crossposted here and there)

- Got my first round of midterms back, As and B+s, which is good ... I have a whole new set of midterms to do in a few weeks, though, which is bad. Stonybrook's got a weird system like that (2 midterms and a final)

- Need to get a few odds and ends to get my Fourth Doctor costume going for Halloween. I guess I should also practice bugging my eyes and slurring

There's a new Dr Who logo, so obviously fandom is having a collective spasm over it. I get the people bitching about not liking it aesthetically - personally, I like it (especially the Tardis part), but different things work for different people, whatever - but the people complaining about the change for being a change at all are goddamn ridiculous. It keeps surprising me how conservative a fandom Dr Who is. I don't mean politically conservative, but conservative in the sense of being resistant to change, and to me, the constant raging and thrashing every time something gets altered seems, uh, at odds with the basic concepts of the show. The cast, the writers, the style, the settings all change constantly - the fucking title character's been played by eleven different people! If you like a static show, why on Earth would you watch Dr Who? I understand complaining about the nature of how things on the show change, and debating whether they work better than previous directions and etc, but it seems like a lot of people are just pissed off that it's different at all, and that just does not compute to me.

Bah, I just want the show to be back on. I got burnt out a bit by approximately a million hours of old school Dr Who (still not done, probably won't ever be because I painted myself into a boring corner of only having creaky 8-episode-long First Doctor arcs and the interminable stretches of the Fourth Doctor era left and I'm just not feeling any of that). But now that the new show will be coming back relatively soon, and after some New Who rewatching, I'm excited about it again.

- Enjoying Stonybrook so far ( ...more school stuff )

Went into the city yesterday to see The Decemberists for Glenn's birthday with him and Mar. We went into the Met earlier to see an exhibit on ancient Afghani art, which was really cool - the pieces they had were beautiful, and the mix of cultures in it was interesting (lots of Chinese and Indian influence, along with some Roman stuff). Lolled around the steps for awhile, and then made our slow, waylaid-by-jackassery journey to the concert (unintentionally wound up in Queens for a bit). The show itself was pretty cool - the opening band was pretty lame (Hall of Flames, I think? whatever, they weren't that good), but the Decemberists were awesome. See them live if you're into them, they are fantastic. Glenn made a new nemesis in the crowd, I got elbow-titted by a teenage girl like a million times and we got to watch a couple creepily sing "The Bachelor and the Bride" at each other (mm, romantic) but whatever. My feet are dead from all the walking and standing, but all in all it was a good day.

I'm about halfway through the fourth season of Farscape (so don't spoil me for the movie). It's absolutely one of the best sci-fi shows I've ever seen. They just do such interesting, creative things with aliens, alien cultures, characters and everything, I love that show. When I get home, I need to scan in some of my fanart - it's a great show to draw.

I've also been watching more Blake's 7 (kinda burnt out on old Dr Who, though not the fandom). I like "bickery fuckups in space" style sci-fi (FarscapeFarscapeFarscape), so I'm finding it pretty entertaining, and the high-school play budget it hilarious. And wow, people were not misleading me about the Blake/Avon thing. I've been spoiled for the finale, but I can't wait to see it anyway.

Off to Global Hollywoods. This 2 hour gap will probably elicit a lot more posting now.

(Always Sunny icon to celebrate the new season. God damn, that show rules)

so it seemed to me that basically everyone online who watches old school Dr Who also watches Blake's 7. I read the description on teh Wikipedia, and found some of the Farscapeyness of the premise intriguing (I've also been watching Farscape all this summer, it is hardcore awesome), and I had some time on my hands so I watched the first 3 episodes.

so far it's interesting. it's kind of like the Prisoner went into the future, raped Farscape and let their depressed crackbaby grow up in an even cheaper corner of British outer space than Dr Who with even uglier clothes. Blake is ok (has anyone noticed how goofy he runs? they only show that clip like 50 times in the first episode), but physically he keeps reminding me of Joe Flaherty as Rocco on SCTV's 'The Days of the Week', and that's a little bizarre. I like Avon, he has a bunch of qualities that I tend to like in fictional characters - smart, bitchy, a little faggy, and kinda ridiculous (I'm pretty sure Avon's mom cuts his hair). I like Jenna, but so far it seems like they're having her soften up to Blake way too fast. we'll see how that goes. Vila doesn't bother me yet, but I hope they eventually do things with him besides have him be saucily Cockney. Gan I also don't have much of an impression of yet, beyond being "the muscle". the show moves faster than old Dr Who (thank Christ), but it does have an ongoing plot, which is cool. and Brian Blessed shows up in the third episode as a cult leader, so that's pretty awesome (lol, Brian Blessed). the opening credits crack me up ... not so much the bad computer effects (think like, Atari level computer graphics), they can't really help that, but man. the music is pretty awful (that bit the first time the title pops up is such soap opera organ music), and I love that there's like, 2 parts of it - one quick "space, 'Blake's 7'" bit and then a longer, "Blake's backstory, and in case you forgot from 20 seconds ago, 'Blake's 7'" part. woops, I mean 'Blakes 7', cause apostrophes ... aren't outer spacey enough, or something.

it's dweeby as all hell, but it's ok so far, and I'll probably watch a bit more of it.

Went to orientation at Stonybrook ... this is my fall schedule

MONDAY
10:40- 11:35 ... Topics in Ancient and Medieval Europe (the topic is late Renaissance Italy)
2:20- 3:40 ... Topics in American History (the topic is "global Hollywoods")

TUESDAY
9:50- 11:10 ... Topics in Asian History (the topic is post-WW2 Japan)
12:50- 2:10 ... Introduction to the Solar System (I still needed another science course)

WEDNESDAY
same as Monday

THURSDAY
same as Tuesday, plus
2:20 - 3:50 ... bullshit "intro to Stonybrook" class that I'm probably going to drop

FRIDAY
10:40- 11:35 ... the Italian Renaissance class

So if any of y'all bitches be Stonybrook students, I have many gaps in my schedule that I can fill with irritating you.

... que? I know it's from a movie called "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", and that it's Steve Martin singing "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", but someone please explain it in a broader sense. Any of it.

Lolll "The Mighty Boosh". I can totally see why it wouldn't work for some people, but I really like the surrealness and the weird animated bits and all the random singing and the stream-of-consciousness arguing.

some clips on youtube

I'm a gay! I'm a massive gayist! Woo!

Oh, right. Livejournal.

I completed my glorious one semester at Binghamton University and moved back to my parents' house, mainly for financial reasons. 3.5 GPA, which is not bad for a semester where 500% more of my time was spent getting high and watching Dr Who than doing anything school-related. My unspeakably slow crawl to a bachelor's in history will continue at Stonybrook in the fall. Right now I'm trying to find a job for the summer and some kind of projects to do to fend off boredom. I started a Dr Who blog (time_rammed) that maybe I won't totally abandon like all my other internet projects. I wanna do something, but I can't think of what. I don't know, I'm pretty useless right now.

hobsonphile's version of the 10 Pairings meme ...

List ten of your favorite fannish relationships (can be romantic or platonic), and ask your friends list to comment on what patterns they see in those relationships. Try to include a variety of fandoms.

1) Doctor/Master (Doctor Who)
2) Holmes/Watson (Sherlock Holmes)
3) Spock/McCoy (Star Trek Original Series)
4) Jack Aubery/Stephen Maturin (Master and Commander)
5) Lister/Rimmer (Red Dwarf)
6) Mulder/Scully (X-Files, even though the show did it badly in the end)
7) The Monarch/Dr Girlfriend (Venture Brothers)
8) Bertie/Jeeves (Jeeves and Wooster)
9) House/Wilson (House)
10) Q/Picard (Star Trek: Next Gen)

I haven't vidded (or updated) in forever, so what better way to restart than with a video that maybe 2 other people will get?

For that undoubtedly HUGE selection of the population that watches both "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and 70s-era Dr Who .... a lulzy Third Doctor tribute set to "Dayman" from the "Nightman Cometh" musical episode



for a less cracked-out Dr Who vid, watch this one that Glenn just did (Doctor/Master, set to the Dandy Warhols' "We Used to Be Friends"). he should also post his Prisoner-Degrassi video, which is if possible an even less likely combination of shows

here, have a bunch of barely coherent Dr Who icons ...





I can't imagine that many people who aren't Glenn wanting any of these (and he already has like half), but if for some reason you do, knock yourself out.

a couple Dr Who doodles I did in my Irish history lecture ...

( aw, Three and Delgado-Master )

I should finish and scan the other Who stuff in my sketchbook. and finish some videos.

went to Icon ... there was a bit less going on this year, I guess because of the move to the community college and various hotels, but it was still fun. saw a few interesting (mainly sciencey) panels, saw a bunch of goobers in costumes, was a partially-costumed goober my own self (I can haz Fourth Doctor scarf), and hung out with Glenn and Jess. good times.

( a few pictures, courtesy of Jess )

lol, it's Mr Pookins. (the blind guy)

( My Long, Rambling List of Thoughts on Doctor Who Characters in the old series )

I just kind of wanted to write anything, to kind of get myself in the mood for writing a bunch of papers in the upcoming weeks. so, Doctor Who. At length.

I set my bangs aflame.

That probably means I should cut them.

um, what else ...

I started going to Binghamton University, finally. It's going ok so far - the classes are a little bit harder than at the community college, but not by a lot. And most of them are ok - I'm taking "Disease, Medicine and Empire", "Cinema and Violence", "Irish History, 1600-1998", and "Fantastic* Spaces in Film and Lit" which is about half a lit class, half a philosophy class on the concept of "space". The Irish history lectures are kind of dry, but the lecture class is good. We're doing a unit on Irish history in "Cinema and Violence", too, so I get plenty of that cheerful subject. Reading a bunch of different things - James Joyce is interesting (but OMG what a freak). We're supposed to read a few magical realism novels in the "Spaces" class, looking forward to that. I dragged my ass on reading "Year of the French" by Thomas Flanagan, but it's actually pretty good (it's about the rebellion in 1798, from about a bazillion points of view on it).

*which I can't not hear in the Ninth Doctor voice. fantastic!

In theory I'm going to have a job back at BCC as a tutor ... in statistics. Also possibly a history class or two (or basically anything I got an A in), but I was specifically recommended to teach statistics by my professor, which is ... cool, but very strange. I did pretty well in that class, but I'm not sure how - I feel like I only got every other thing we learned. But, especially since nowhere else I've applied to has called me, I'm totally willing to give tutoring a shot. I just realllly don't want to fuck someone up with bad tuting. And I guess this will be a good start towards eventually becoming a history teacher, which seems like the most likely thing I'll do with a history degree. I wonder how you get into TAing here. I want to maybe teach a "history and film" class - it'll combine two things I like, and also I'll get to show movies all day.

Or possibly a "Doctor Who" class, since I'm watching so damn much of it. Look at that shit. There's just something about it that's very appealing to me, even when it's bad. And man, it is bad a lot. Like, it has about the same ratio of bad episodes to good that Original Series Star Trek has which is bad cause, a) Star Trek had a lot of bad episodes, and b) Doctor Who has like, nearly 50 years of that ratio of bad episodes. Which isn't to say I don't completely love this show, cause I do, it's just - yikes, sometimes.

I've seen every Doctor except Eight at least once so far, and I read a Doctor Who novel featuring him - that I got way before I watched this, for some reason - so I kind of have an idea of his character. I've only seen Two in multiple Doctor escapades and I've only seen one serial of Six's, so those two I don't have as clear an impression of, but I've seen quite a bit of Three, Four and Five and a little of One and Seven, and I like them all. Nine is "my Doctor", maybe because he was my first, but I think I would have liked him whenever I came across him. <3 Nine. Oh, Christopher Eccleston, you bastard, do some kind of "Multiple Doctors Get into Exponentially Crazier Hijinks" special with David Tennant and maybe the next guy. And go back to Heroes while you're at it.

giant fuck-all post of Thoughts on Dr Who Characters next, it's getting too long

ongoing list of what Doctor Who I've consumed so far ...

First Doctor
An Unearthly Child
10,000 BC
The Daleks
The Aztecs
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Romans
Space Museum
The Chase
The Tenth Planet

Second Doctor
Tomb of the Cybermen
The Mind Robber
The Invasion
The Krotons
The War Games

Third Doctor
Spearhead From Space
The Silurians
Inferno
Terror of the Autons
The Mind of Evil
The Claws of Axos
Colony in Space
The Daemons
Day of the Daleks
The Sea Devils
The Time Monster
The Three Doctors
Carnival of Monsters
Frontier in Space
Planet of the Daleks
The Green Death
The Time Warrior
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Death to the Daleks
The Monsters of Peladon
Planet of the Spiders

Fourth Doctor
Robot
Ark in Space
The Sontaran Experiment
Genesis of the Daleks
Terror of the Zygons
Pyramids of Mars
The Deadly Assasin
The Invisible Enemy
The Ribos Operation
The Pirate Planet
The Stones of Blood
The Androids of Tara
The Power of Kroll
The Armageddon Factor
Destiny of the Daleks
City of Death
The Creature from the Pit
Horns of Nimon
Meglos
Full Circle
Warrior's Gate
The Keeper of Traken
Logopolis

Fifth Doctor
Castrovalva
The Visitation
Black Orchid
Earthshock
Time Flight
Arc of Infinity
Mawdryn Undead
The King's Demons
The Five Doctors
Warriors of the Deep
The Awakening
Frontios
Resurrection of the Daleks
Planet of Fire
Caves of Androzani

Sixth Doctor
Vengeance on Varos
Mark of the Rani
The Two Doctors
Revelation of the Daleks
Trial of a Time Lord
- The Mysterious Planet
- Mindwarp
- Terror of the Vervoids
- The Ultimate Foe

Seventh Doctor
all

Eighth Doctor
The Enemy Within: The TV Movie (ie, all)

Ninth Doctor
all

Tenth Doctor
all so far

Etc
Scream of the Shalka
Curse of Fatal Death

Audiobooks
Freedom
Master
Sympathy for the Devil
Deadline