Razor Clams
Listen While You Work
Why? Well, I wanted to catch some Gershwin being played on Radio 3, and the sound quality of the radio-accessory beats streamed internet radio hands down.
I'm hugely impressed by the interface, as one would expect. It makes hopping around between stations so very easy.
And yes, I'm aware that listening to Radio 3 makes me middle-aged. Thanks for pointing that out.
Duck!
QotD: Signed, Sealed, Delivered
How do you sign your emails?
Submitted by rosemarypepper.
In general: "Regards, Adam"
For friends: "A"
For Lorna: "A xx"
Not very exciting...
Last of the Time Lords: intial thoughts
My goodness. Doctor Who fans are a miserable bunch, aren't they?
[Link now dead] Personally, I rather enjoyed that. Lots of fun, some real, lingering emotional consequences to what happened, and at least three separate threads that will continue into the next series.
And the Titanic in the Vortex.
Christmas seems too far away, now.
More detailed thoughts tomorrow.
In Praise of Lucy Saxon
[caption id=“attachment_2708” align=“alignright” width=“288”]
Alexandra Moen as Lucy Saxon[/caption]
I don’t watch much TV right now. I’m the archetypical 30-something who is caught between a busy lifestyle, family commitments and the internet. But one show that I do watch religiously is Doctor Who. The reasons why are fodder for another post but, for now, I’d just like to spend a few moments congratulating the combination of Russell T. Davies and Alexandra Moen for bringing us the character of Lucy Saxon (pictured right from next Saturday’s episode).
Giving the Master an evil companion to match the Doctor’s good companions is an inspired idea, really pushing the idea of the two Time Lords being dark reflections of each other. And her clearly sexual (as far as anything can be clearly sexual in a family show) relationship with The Master-as-Harold Saxon mirrors the Doctor’s endlessly chaste relationships with his travelling companions.
Moen’s contribution? She’s managed to make a relatively small part compelling, and give a character who is excited at the idea of the rapid slaughter of 10% of Earth’s population a staggering credibility, in the circumstances. Davies has used the character as a powerful tool to underline the horrific nature of what’s happening, which has proved necessary with John Simm’s so-far-over-the-top-he’s-likeable portrayal of the Master. She gives a human edge to his alien villainy that brings it all so much closer to home.
So far we’ve seen her as the stereotype politician’s wife, with sensible hair, and buttoned-down outfit. From the looks of the picture, we’ll see her as a much more typical villain at the weekend.
Dramas like Doctor Who often stand or fall on their guest cast. So far, Moen’s Lucy Saxon has been one of the best.
Faithful Times
The Times has launched a new blog about faith. Faith Central, written by Libby Purves, is already proving a good guide to the complicated issues facing people of various faiths around the world. It makes a nice counterpoint to Ruth Gledhill's Articles of Faith.
(I still have no idea at all why The Times uses Typepad without even mapping a domain onto the blogs though. Still, Six Apart must be happy with all the Google juice Typepad is getting as a result.)
Never Underestimate the Power of Bric-a-Brac
The appeal of the event is pretty obvious: fresh-picked strawberries and rich local cream; cheap plants grown locally; a tombola and raffle. All clearly appealing things. But the real draw, and the real mystery to me, is bric-a-brac.
They were waiting, you see. They were lurking outside, gathered furtively at the gate while the unloading and setting up and organising was going on. They knew what time it started. And they knew where they wanted to go.
At the stroke of 3pm, they were in. Past the strawberries they went, and past the tombola. They didn't divert to the plants or the raffle. No. They were the bric-a-brac hordes, and nothing would stop them. A bounty of china Christmas trees, bed warmers, stringless guitars and old plates awaited, and they would plunder.
Us? We had tea and scones. Mmmm.
