David Tennant, Doctor Who, The End of Time and Geekcrush

Sigh…..As a long time Doctor Who fan I have to admit that I am a bit saddened by the…season finally? 2009 specials? Bahh it doesn’t matter. What I’m trying to get at here is that my all time favorite Doctor is now gone. Hey now. No hate male. Tom Baker was my favorite doctor for more than 20 years and there will always be a geeky place in my hart for his portrayal of The Doctor. IF you’re seriously contemplating that hate mail still you should know that in 2006, readers of Doctor Who Magazine voted Tennant’s Doctor “Best Doctor” over Tom Baker. Admittedly it was supper close but there you are.

The thing about Tennant is that his portrayal seemed to have the best of all the past Doctors rolled into the character.(well minus the 12 ft scarf and jelly babies) I’m not sure if that is just his personality or if it’s his love of the franchise or he is just that fraking good….Maybe a combination of all three.

Seriously Tennant had me at “Hello! Okay…[gulps] New teeth. That’s weird.”

The smile, the energy, hell the chemistry with Rose Tyler (Billie Piper)(lol sounds like I gotta mancrush on Tennant but I’m not romantically attracted to him…Maybe it’s a Geekcrush….)

Now Christopher Eccleston’s 9th Doctor was great too. I think if he had another season or two in him he would have been just as great as Tennant’s but his portrayal ended too soon, and while there was a certain camaraderie in his relationship with Piper’s, Rose Tyler it was Tennant who brought a new emotion to the doctor. Love….Something we hadn’t really seen before. Don’t get me wrong The Doctor in all his incarnations has always Loved humanity to a point but not what Rose and he had at the end.

Russell T. Davies run as the writer, and producer is another HUGE part of the appeal of the new seasons. His take on the series is the other half of all the great acting. It doesn’t matter how good someone can act, if the writing and production sucks then the show sucks and as a fan I have to thank Davies for his contributions to the show. Without him everything else wouldn’t have been possible.

The Doctor portrayed by Eccleston and Tennant is a darker character than in the original series. The Time War and the loss of the Time Lords as well as Gallefrey have left their marks. And while the Doctor constantly shows compassion he also shows a resolve and ruthlessness when confronted by those who would harm others for personal gain. Giving one warning and the sometimes ruthlessly ending the current conflict.

I’m not gonna go into to much detail on Tennant’s last foray as The Doctor because I wont spoil it for those who have not seen The End of Time but I will say it resolves a lot of questions about things that have come up during the last 4 seasons and specials. I’ll also say that it has one of the longest and most poignant regenerations to date ending with Tennant’s last words as the Doctor…”I don’t want to go.” Left me a bit misty eyed and was as grand in it’s own way as Eccleston’s farewell to Piper’s, Rose Tyler “Rose, before I go I just wanna tell you – you were fantastic… absolutely fantastic… and d’you know what?
[Rose shakes her head and The Doctor smiles hugely] So was I. “

This….Reboot, Retooling or revival of one of my favorite television series has been wonderful so far and I can not wait to see what season 5 brings. Matt Smith will portray the 11th Doctor and as the youngest actor to play The Doctor, so far, may even add more energy to the Time Lord than Tennant and Eccleston have. We can only wait and see.

FUN FACTS:

Doctor Who originally ran for 26 series (seasons) on BBC One, from 23 November 1963 until 6 December 1989. Doctor Who first appeared on BBC television at 17:15 GMT on 23 November 1963,

756 Doctor Who installments have been televised since 1963.

Between about 1964 and 1974, large amounts of older material stored in the BBC’s various video tape and film libraries were either destroyed or simply wiped. This included many old episodes of Doctor Who, mostly stories featuring the first three Doctors

On Sunday Jul. 26, 2009, Doctor Who is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world.
Guinness granted the award on the basis of broadcast ratings, DVD sales, book sales and iTunes traffic.
Longevity was another factor, since “Doctor Who” also holds the Guinness record for longest-running sci-fi TV series. A controversy broke out over that record in 2006, and “Stargate SG-1″ (203 episodes) later received the record for longest-running consecutive sci-fi series after completing a 10-year run.

The Eighth Doctor made his first and only television appearance in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie, the first time the Doctor had returned to television screens since the end of the original series in 1989. Intended as a backdoor pilot for a new television series on the Fox Network, the movie was inadequately marketed and advertised[citation needed] (and in some markets even pre-empted by televised sporting events), ultimately leading to poor US ratings. In the UK, however, it was received well, attracting over 9 million viewers and generally positive reviews. On-screen dialogue confirms that the Seventh Doctor “dies” at 10:03 PM on 30 December 1999, with regeneration occurring early on 31 December. The position of prop clocks would suggest this regeneration to have occurred some time around 1:00 to 1:15 on that day, leading to some argument that it may have taken place over a prolonged period of time unlike other regenerations. This may have been caused by the anesthetic in the Doctor’s system

Tom Baker’s Doctor had a distinctive scarf that came about by accident: James Acheson, the costume designer, had provided far more wool than was necessary to the knitter, Begonia Pope, and Ms. Pope knitted all the wool she was given; it was Baker who suggested that he wear the resulting — ridiculously over-long — scarf.

The image of the TARDIS has become firmly linked to the show in the public’s consciousness. In 1996, the BBC applied for a trademark to use the TARDIS’ blue police box design in merchandising associated with Doctor Who. In 1998, the Metropolitan Police filed an objection to the trademark claim; in 2002 the Patent Office ruled in favor of the BBC.

Lately

Well I haven’t given up blogging. I’ve just been doing other things that involve creativity. I’ve been posting more and more on Brassgoggles. ( A site dedicated to most things steampunk ) Or more precisely the brassgoggle forums. I have been tinkering a little with some accessories for a steampunk wardrobe. (that I still have not made/acquire) I.E. Goggles, sidearm, boots. I don’t currently have plans to attend any of the get togethers or cons that the Pacific North West has to offer but I have enough interest in it that if I ever do I would want at least one set of clothing appropriate for such a setting. So I have not abandoned this blog I am just doing other things at this moment and as soon as I am done I will more than likely return.

It’s been a while

I’ve been kinda busy lately. Military training in Utah…(didn’t really get out to see anything. Just Camp Williams and the training area so can’t really say much about Utah.) Prepping for said training. Then Thanksgiving. Setting up a sex swing…….

Hehe yep you read right. I even have pictures of it in use but there is no way I’m going to post pics. I’ve done a lot of things in the past to enhance my wife’s and my marital bliss. Customized the height of our bed for the best angles but that’s kinda permanent. (sorry for those of you who are a little squeamish about this kinda thing) We had talked about purchasing one a bit in the past and while I was in Utah the wife decided to go a head and get one. It’s a pretty decent design two padded Straps (one for the sitting on and one for back support) it also included two straps for feet support or legs if you slide them up past the knees. Could use some hand and arm cuffs for when one feels inclined for that kinda thing but it would be an easy fix to add your own. The great thing about it is that you can get some decent angles and body positions with an item that can be bundled up and stored in a small box. It hooks to a single large eyelet that can be put into an overhead beam or put into the top side of a door way so the eyelet wouldn’t be as noticeable. (what we did)

So basically if you have been thinking about spicing things up with one of these things go for it. It’s worth the cost (we paid $120). Ours installed in minutes. (pre-drilled a small hole and, using a long screwdriver for leverage, screwed in the eyelet.)

Ours looks like this (minus the cheetah pattern) Kinda NSFW but there is no one actually modeling the seat.

Swing

Wow come back after a long pause in posting and this is what I come up with….(shakes head) (grin) oh well. Guess I’m just turning into a pervy old dude compared to a pervy young guy who wouldn’t dare share this kinda info with the public at large.

The Geek Factor in Portland Radio

NOTE: Wow My last post is rather bleak in appearance. I admit  I was zooming around the interwebs trying to find everything I could on the firings at KUFO, and what those who were in the know were saying, what the fans were saying and what Alpha/KUFO was saying and all I ended up with is blurbs stacked on top of blurbs with no real rhyme or reason to how I put it down. (in my defense everyone in my household has been sick this week. Most of us sleeping 18+ hours a day due to this.)

I’ve written about The Rick Emerson Show before. How it’s a pop culture Smörgåsbord. I have not really written anything about Cort and Fatboy however it is in a similar vein. Both shows had a certain Geek factor to them. Yes the geek element isn’t as large as the mouth breathing element out there but the geeks do have the habit of finding something and making it their own. They stick to it. They support it.

What’s Funny is I’ve heard that one advertiser has already dropped out. Then again VISO beverage was always a Rick Emerson Show Advertiser rather than a KUFO advertiser. Nothing like highly caffeinated drinks to warm the harts of local Portland geeks and those abroad.

There are other outlets for Fans of the shows. I’ve mentioned the Rick Emerson Show Podcasts and as of right now the links to the Podcasts take you to the KUFO homepage. Hopefully there will be an official place to get old podcasts. But for now you can get some of them at the Tegian zone TEG has said that he is working on getting the rest up.

Cort and Fatboy’s Podcasts were always about twice as long as heard on air and it has been said that they will continue podcasts online. They also host a midnight movie. The next movie is Raising Arizona and it is at the Bagdad Theater as usual. The movie starts at 11:00 PM on the 6th of November. Tickets are a whole $3 at the door, It’s 21 years of age and older due to plenty of alcohol being served. (yes their site is a little bare right now due to the recent changes.)

I did get around to listening to an Interview Rick Emerson did on WSU campus Radio 10/29/09 it’s long but great, if you are interested in radio personalities. He talks about the resent firings, zombies, his early career and how he got into radio, the future of radio, answering questions from the students and talking about various other radio related subjects.

KOUG Radio interview with Rick Emerson

One thing he did say that was interesting is that, Some fans felt there was no distinction to listening to the Rick Emerson Show on the radio, live, on line or delayed via the podcasts.

I found this rather interesting. It’s something that most of us have noticed, that with the internet it has become easier for the little guys to put their form of expression out for others to find, from Indy musicians, to Kevin Smith podcasts talking about anal with his wife, and yes even blogs such as this one, but what I find interesting is consumers are starting to lump every thing into one compartment. Whether it is music, movies,live streaming, radio podcasts, internet podcasts and all the other sundry bits and bytes that can be found online. The thing is, it is all portable. You can watch/listen to it on your PC/Laptop/Phone….Download speeds are getting faster, storage is getting smaller and larger, Digital Entertainment can be taken anywhere now.

Many of the two canceled shows Facebook fans are using a fan made picture as their profile photo.

“Don’t let the bastards grind you down” was just one of the phrases Emerson would use at the close of the show and one I’m gonna try to remember as I wrap this up.

Portland Airwaves Dumbed Down Again.

As of Friday, October 23rd, KUFO’s morning slot, The Rick Emerson Show (v.6.3) is no more, along with Cort and Fatboy, KUFO’s afternoon show.

“What’s the opposite of shinny?” Asks Rick Emersons via twitter on 4:07 PM Oct 23rd.
We the fans assume this was posted right after the mid-afternoon meeting with one of the station’s new executives, Scott Mahalick. Of course the meeting was concerning the terminations of The Rick Emerson Show. The Cort and Fatboy Show was also canceled.

101.1 KUFO was recently sold to Alpha Broadcasting by CBS along with CBS’s other local stations. This has left many wondering when the changes would start. Now we know. We know and are saddened. The lowest common denominator has been “fed.” Alpha also owns 98.7 KUPL, 101.9 KINK, Freedom 970am, 750 KXLam and 95.5 FM the game.

For those who like the music played on KUFO don’t worry there will be more of the same with less talk in between songs but if you only tuned in to hear the DJs/Talent then you may want to go the IPod route and start looking for good Podcasts.

The new line up consist of The Kidd Chris Show, 5:00-10:00am Know for his appearances on the Howard Stern. Kidd Chris was fired from his last radio gig in early 08 for a song parody that was “highly offensive and completely inappropriate for broadcast” According to management at the time. (You can find the lyrics to this below in one of the linked articles to judge for yourself.)

Ditch on the Job, 10:00am-3:00pm The new PD and afternoon host. Hopefully he keeps the Prank calls to a minimum.

Ricker, 3:00pm-7:00pm Another shock joke….Er Jock persona. I really can’t call this guy talent. Even if he has a large Seattle Fan base.

Marconi, 7:00pm-12:00am Back in 2004, Marconi along with his co-hoast laughed and played music to the screams of American Nick Berg as he was beheaded in Iraq.
Art Webb, 12:00am-5:00am

The Oregonian’s Peter Carlin Chimes in as well with Shake up at KUFO

Oregon Media Central’s recent Post is a pretty good read as well.

Mike Russell of CulturePulp has a great article and links to just about everything there is out there concerning the changes.

To rub it all in someone had the bright Idea to play “Let the bodies hit the floor” as the first song of the new line up. Alienated a few fans that at least wanted to give the new format a “chance”

The bottom line is that Alpha Broadcasting has gotten rid of 8 or so talented individuals and brought in two “personalities” Stuck their new Program Director into the Mid day slot and moved Art Bell. All these changes lowered talent costs and in my opinion dumbed down the airwaves.

Cataloging old show podcasts and searching for freshnew ones instead of listeneing to the radio once again. Should really get one of those Car radios that take sim cards to play what I want.

This is horrible. I have no idea what to write about. And I’ve felt this way for a couple weeks. There is nothing going on in my life that is causing this. Actually I’m pretty content right now.

I did start a no smoking kick again this week. Me and Chantix are becoming close friends it seems.

The kids and I have been playing with my old legos that I saved from when I was younger. They still won’t put them away when they are done. (I’ve stored them in a 5 gallon bucket) So I guess I should put them up on a shelf again…Maybe the grandkids will be more respectful. (Plus you don’t want to step on these things in the middle of the night)

Been Playing Mafia Wars on Facebook…Watching TV…Shopping for Halloween costumes…..Drinking coffee…bang’n the wife…..You know. All the fun stuff that keeps us occupied.

Haven’t seen a movie recently so can’t really comment on one….hmmmm Well it is the Halloween season…Ok how about my top 5 zombie movies.

5. Dawn of the Dead.
The remake. Come on the zombies RAN.
4. Shawn of the Dead.
British Comedy and zombies. What’s not to love about this film?
3. Dead Alive.
Ok this is an older one from 92…best use of a lawnmower ever.
2. Army of Darkness.
Ok maybe they aren’t Zombies but the deadites are pretty close. And whats a movie list without Bruce Campbell in it?
1.Return Of The Living Dead.
Back in 85 Zombies first uttered…um Mumbled…er Moaned “Braineeeessss” for the first time. Also one of the first zombie movies I saw. So there is a certain place in my hart for it.

I still love Halloween. More the dressing up like a fiend or zombie and scaring people rather than giving out candy to kiddies.

I’ll post pics of the costume I have this year…Sometime….

PDX Halloween Bazaar

This weekend the I took the family to the Portland Halloween Bazaar at the Lloyd Center DoubleTree Exhibit Hall. It was ghoulish, cheesy, and fun. While there were not many costumes for sale there were tricks and treats for every age. The kids and the wife enjoyed the crafting table, where one could put together 3d wooden puzzles of spiders, witches, and skeletons, paint, or color pictures And scary plaster skulls. The thing that gave me the most laughs was a 10 foot clown….

FYI: The Fear of clowns is called, coulrophobia.

Yes there is someone in there. And he would stand motionless until a new group of unsuspecting passersbyers would come near before quickly raising his puppeteered arms and hands and rush at the newcomers. Some would laugh. Others would scream, and quite a few actually ran away. OH and I did see him actually make a young child cry. I don’t think he did it on pourpous as the child was walking behind the adults and out of the clowns direct line of sight.

Loosing steam

Ok maybe not loosing steam but fall tv is in full swing and I’ve been watching a little to much. What with shows like Fringe, Bones, NCIS, CSI, and Smallville I find myself away from the computer more and more.

However tonight I couldn’t sleep and went blog hopping. Over at Stop and Wander amuirin posted some nude pics up and I left a comment that my nude pussy pic was better than hers. SO of course I have to post my favorite one. While it’s not technically mine it is one I have had for a long time.

The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world!

Ok…Maybe it’s not “better” but I have had it for a while. Found it somewhere on the net….Call it my zombie cat or ‘if brain was a cat’ pic.

Ren Faire Pic

Someone caught me napping.

Caught Napping

That is all!

Post Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire

Well we hit up the Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire for the second time and had a pretty good time. Took some pictures…Like this one:

Random Snap shot

And this one.

Also took a pic of someones armor. I saw it being worn but forgot to take a picture then. They had it displayed in their guild yard.

Watched the Imperial Knights Preform a couple times. They were rather good. Mounted target competition with spears…..Here just watch there promotional video….

A group got married early Saturday morning which was cool but since I didn’t really know any of the participants I won’t put up any of those pictures.

While there was plenty of stuff to purchase from vendors I only got two things. A Flask and a bottle. I’ll have to describe them better below but just so you know you can buy a whole set of “garb” (fair costume) swords, other weaponry, armor, many other accessories and doo dads are available as well. There were also Food vendors and that’s where my first purchase came into play. There is a stand that sells fresh made Root beer, Birch Beer (a little stronger than the root beer) Sarsaparilla, and cream soda. Now they sell it in bottles from a 16 oz all the way up to a huge 2 litter glass jug. I purchased one of the middle sizes for 9 bucks but then refills are only 2 bucks. I also snagged one of their leather holsters for it. I guess that’s two purchases but I only count it as one since they go together.

I don’t remember where I got this next item but It caught my attention as soon as I saw it.

Maybe you can’t tell right off but the center is glass on both sides of this round flask. I don’t carry a flask normally and it’s not quite up to vault 13 water flask standards it is pretty cool. Here is a better pic showing you can see right through it.

While the lunch box has been mine I grabbed it to show off the glass windows in the flask and couldn’t help but put Pip boy in the center.

The truck is still full of our stuff and I really need to go get it cleaned out.