Wombling along

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the Nineteenth

2013-11-18T04:28:59Z

Oh noes I broke Livejournal. Below should be a youtube video link but its not working the way I want it to.......... Don't worry when I look at the preview everything is fine.

Perhaps a link that will work to Night of the Doctor Mini-episode

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U3jrS-uhuo

Yes, Yes posting this early but we know what I am like don't we!

Also Paul McGann!

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the Eighteenth

2013-11-18T04:11:15Z

Dr Who Cross-stitch. They are all so cute. However, I am not allowed to buy anymore cross-stitch patterns until I finish a few of the crossstitchs that I currently have on the go. I started finishing up my cross-stitched Tardis iphone cover last night but now my sore shoulder is back with a vengeance :-(.

This etsy shop has a number of Dr Who related cross-stitch pattern - I like the simplicity of this composition.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/68425110/pixel-people-the-eleven-doctors-pdf?ref=shop_home_active

http://crafty-tardis.livejournal.com/505589.html

Makes my very simplistic Tardis cross stitch look a bit plain. Oh well I'll be updating to an iphone5 at somepoint so I'll need a new cover then.
http://www.thezenofmaking.com/2013/04/tessellating-tardis-iphone-case-cross-stitch-pattern.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8370111@N06/8738234222/

http://www.etsy.com/listing/85545500/dr-who-madman-with-a-box-pdf-cross

http://geekcrafts.livejournal.com/120045.html

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/208150813999424089/

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Seventeenth entry anywhos

2013-11-18T03:35:49Z

Daleks..... Every good hero needs a good an enemy.... Or at least an enemy with a good catch phrase.... Exterminate

An array of Dalek related craft etc which I found on the internet.

http://www.craftycrafty.tv/2012/05/galleries/geek_craft_seriously_geeky_wed.php?pic=2

http://geekcrafts.com/540-painted-dalek-shoes/

http://klat.com/blogs/strange-knits/fandom-crafts-amazing-dalek-sweater

So below is the page the above image apparently comes from but I can't locate it on there (tech fail). I included the link though as there are lots of other interesting things to read and look at.

http://doctorher.com/?cat=54

http://mooandflo.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/star-wars-dress-up-may-the-force-be-with-you/

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Sixteenth entry anywhos

2013-11-17T12:12:21Z

So the sixteenth entry is actually a reminder to myself to get around to exploring Big Finish Audio as I have listened to Tansy Rayner Roberts on various podcasts this year talk about Big Finish and the rest of the Verity podcast crew so given the amount of time I keep making for podcasts I think this would be something I would enjoy. Ooops slightly overly long sentence there.

Anyways click the following link for extensive Dr Who things to listen to -
http://www.bigfinish.com/hubs/v/doctor-who

And I think at some point there is a female Doctor in the Big Finish universe.

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Fifteenth entry anywhos

2013-11-17T11:54:41Z

Look K9 has his own IMDB page -
http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0009621/

I have really distinct memories of K9 and Sarah Jane from my childhood Dr Who watching days.

In looking for the above image I found this steampunk K9

The Steampunk K9 is from here
http://gratzindustries.blogspot.com.au/

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Fourteenth entry anywhos

2013-11-17T11:41:32Z

So I really don't understand tumblr but I found these images and they are awesome!
From Dr Who Official Tumblr
http://doctorwho.tumblr.com/

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Thirteenth entry anywhos

2013-11-17T07:51:28Z

Just had a mental block on how to spell thirteenth....
This article just made me laugh.... especially the last bit .....

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/the-true-doctor-who-tom-baker-20131115-2xks9.html

Tom :-)

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Twelth entry anywhos

2013-11-17T05:42:12Z

This is one of my favourite podcasts at the moment. It has gotten me through many hours in the microscope room.

This is their website:
http://veritypodcast.wordpress.com/

And for those who understand tumblr they have a tumblr account:
http://veritypodcast.tumblr.com/

I would highly recommend the Verity Extra episode Thinking of June:
It was a great interview with the costume designer June Hudson.
http://veritypodcast.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/verity-extra-thinking-of-june/

Like I said one of my favourite podcasts at the moment to the point where I am about to start a relisten from the start of the year. Fingers crossed they collaborate for more Dr Who related podcasting even when its no the fiftieth anniversary.

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Eleventh entry anywhos

2013-11-17T05:32:33Z

Really how did this happen again.... not to self do not have challenges that involve posting during the week as you suck at it!!!!

More trailery goodness for you for this entry.......

And I completely admit that I am overly pleased with my new found ability to embed videos in Livejournal (and yes I know all I do is cut and paste but its still cool).

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the Tenth

2013-11-10T10:31:13Z

Caught up! Go me!

This is a pretty weak thing but I have this cup and I love it so much! And I have had it long enough that the tea infiltration on the inside is perfect.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e568/

Just do not put it in the microwave.

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Ninth entry anywhos

2013-11-10T07:50:15Z

I was hunting for something else entirely when I found this (which I hope I can locate for a later entry). In all honesty I'm not a huge Matt SmithDr/Amy/Rory/Clara fan so I haven't been as into Dr Who as this ridiculousness of blogs may indicate so the hype about the new Doctor passed me by but I love that there was speculation (loud and rabid speculation at that) and that the list of possibles was so incredible.

So I give you wild speculation
http://www.pedestrian.tv/news/arts-and-culture/wild-speculations-on-the-upcoming-12th-doctor-who-/86140757-85b4-4598-8807-a87b7d16efa5.htm

Olivia Colman for the thirteenth Doctor!

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Eighth entry anywhos

2013-11-10T07:42:25Z

When I was in late primary school there was a book about Dr Who on the shelf in our classroom. It was a reference book with at least a page devoted to each of the doctors and various other pages about the companions and monsters. It was really out of place among the rest of the slim age appropriate fiction on offer (and which I had finished reading a year or so before - yes I was one of those children). Luckily (though I didn't think it at the time) no one else was into Dr Who so every free reading session I got hold of the Dr Who book and I remained absorbed for the fiftenn minutes. This absorption did lead to one of those embarrassing moments when I didn't notice that the teacher had called an end to reading time and when I looked up every other child in the class room had moved down to sit cross legged in front of the teacher. Which to my little childhood psyche was very embarrassing.

I have made a few attempts at figuring out which book my primary school reference was but so far no success - there seems to have been quite a range and I am not sure if the book was newly purchased or an old hand me down.

So thing the eigth is a page on Dr Who reference books -
http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Doctor_Who_reference_books

I feel like the book I was looking at may have been the 1982 Dr Who making of a television series as the front cover is vaguely familiar.

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Seventh entry anywhos

2013-11-10T07:20:27Z

One of my friends has the still for this stuck up next to her computer at work.

I found the moving image at this blog
http://fandom.candaceduffyjones.com/category/tv-shows/tv-doctor-who/
Which looks worth a look.

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Sixth entry anywhos

2013-11-10T07:14:57Z

Just this

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Fifth entry anywhos

2013-11-10T01:32:56Z

This is meant to be Sunday morning but it is closer to Sunday lunctime.

This posts entry is a blog - Tansy Rayner Roberts's Weekly Blog reviewing Dr Who over the last 50 years.
http://tansyrr.com/tansywp/unearthly-teenager-who-1963/

Lots to read and lots of links and we are up to October so you can easily lose a few hours down the rabbit
hole.

As an added comment Tansy is part of the Verity podcast, one third of the Galactic Suburbia Podcast and the first Australian Women to win a Hugo Award (2013 Fan writer).

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Fourth entry anywhos

2013-11-09T01:28:52Z

Computer woes update - it appears my back up hard drive is not dead as it just loaded without error message. (I undertook the equivalent of the IT ritual of turn it off and turn it on again by unplugging and coming back an hour later and plugging it into the USB point which I know is working). Happy Faces all round.

For the 50th Anniversary I am doing a number of social activities (I know me and social activities weird (you may interpret the irony within this statement from which ever angle you like) and so I thought I might make a tardis dress as I have seen several really awesome examples. So this entry is devoted to examples of images of awesome Tardis dresses.

Here is the pinterest board that I've started:
http://www.pinterest.com/Briefly13/tardis-clothing/pins/

And here is 10 TARDIS dresses for Fancy Occassions:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/50177/10-tardis-dresses-fancy-occasions

This dress is really beautifully thought out:
http://fashionablygeek.com/costumes/this-brilliant-tardis-dress-is-bigger-on-the-inside-cosplay/#!nUamH

In an attempt to undertake activities that are matching to my skill level and personality my dress is completely simple in relation to any of these examples but I'm cool with that. Hoping to finish cutting it out today and sew it up tomorrow. :-)

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the ....eh? Third entry anywhos

2013-11-08T23:33:41Z

My laptop battery failed on Tuesday...... for a day I actually thought my entire laptop had died but it seems to be fine just unable to hold more than 15 minutes of charge. :-(. I ordered a new one but until then my laptop is not that mobile. (Also in the computer woe land I just plugged my backup hard drive in to back up the laptop in case it completely loses it and it isn't registering :-( Well I have a back up of the back up in Melbourne but I can't remember last time I backed up the back up Ugh).

Computer woes (let's be honest in part I am more and more discovering the life I lived when I last completed Nano successfully is no longer the same as the one I live now) mean that I am behind on Countdown to The Day of the Doctor (and ridiculously behind on Nano ick). Never fear I'm just rewriting my own rules and you shall now have catch up weekend.

Todays Dr Who goodness is this:

Yes knit your own Dr Who scarf or just look at the pretties on the Witty Little Knitters Website
http://wittylittleknitter.com/

I'm making the Season 15 scarf, however, I am actually going to convert it into a blanket as I discovered after I had knitted the first quarter of length that I would never be able to wear it (I'm a short arse and no I refuse to acknowledge that the knitter and wool crafter extraordinaire that is my Mum was right from the beginning).

For my version I am making it in cotton (from Morris and Sons) and went for a pink rather than a red as I don't like red very much.
Images here:
http://darwinstorm-womblingalong.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/new-projects.html
http://darwinstorm-womblingalong.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/life-as-we-know-it.html

It is an ongoing watching TV project so will probably be ongoing for awhile.

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the 2nd

2013-11-03T00:45:48Z

It's cold here after yesterday's sunshine. Possibly reflecting my mood about my essay??

Yesterday my Mum very excitedly told me that there were Tardis car decals..... I am not sure if it was a hint that she would like some on our joint car or not. So this morning I started to do a little googling to see where to get a Tardis car decal. I quickly got sidelined by Weeping Angel decals. I love the episode Blink and am still creeped out by it. Anyway here are the results of some of my searches.

Classic Weeping Angel image -
http://www.amazon.com/Weeping-Angel-Doctor-Vinyl-Decal/dp/B00AQKBQES/ref=pd_sim_sbs_misc_56

For some stupid reason i can't find a direct link to this image but it comes from this website
http://weheartit.com/entry/84709311/via/wallsoftext

http://groupthink.jezebel.com/the-weeping-angel-mobile-727391662

Have to say I find it difficult to be scared of a Hello Kitty Weeping Angel
http://www.redbubble.com/people/london821/works/10195668-hello-kitty-weeping-angel?p=sticker&ref=shop_grid

Countdown to Day of the Doctor - Day the 1st

2013-11-01T22:54:59Z

I was meant to post this yesterday but I was wiped by the time I managed to make it home!

The idea is to post something Dr Who related for the next 24 days in the run up to the broadcast of Day of the Doctor (on the 24/11 in Ozland). They will be random and perhaps have little explanation but they will be Dr Who related.

Day of the Doctor Trailer on BBC website
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01jzhz3

Setting the theme :-)

The inner contradictions which make us human

2013-10-01T10:28:03Z

'When they eventually did speak, however, what emerged was a portrait of Joplin as a complex person brimming with the sort of inner contradictions that make us human — at once insecure yet full of conviction, opinionated yet concerned about offending, fierce yet tenderhearted.'
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/09/30/janice-joplin-final-interview-animated/

Just a random sentence but it makes me breathe a little sigh of relief to see it expressed by someone else. And especially about someone whose music I love so much.

Sometimes Sunday's are the only real days of the week

2013-09-29T07:14:43Z

Somewhere on my computer languishes a half completed entry on the movies I saw at Miff2013. I may or may not get back to completing it but thought I might pop in to say hi and chat about something else. I am pretty sure last night before I went to sleep and was thinking about what I was going to get done today I had a great idea of what I would write here but whatever clarity was there has not transferred to the daylight hours. Boo! Oh well now you are just stuck with me writing away.
My to-do list for this weekend is fairly immense and hasn’t helpfully gotten up and finished itself while I slept solidly until 11:30. It’s kind of sad as I made a concerted effort to do things yesterday and it didn’t translate to many things being crossed off the list. And my pruned back list for today isn’t moving any faster.
Oh well!
Over the last couple of weeks I have been trying to get out of my reading funk…. Well I think I’ve been in a funk as it felt like I hadn’t read a complete book in ages/ been completely immersed in a book in ages. After starting and discarding several books I decided on a reread of the On the Edge books by Ilona Andrews. This was pretty successful as I really like these books and after a reread I still really like them. Really sad that there are no more books planned for this series.
And then it was time to move on to something new. I have a backlog of books to read both physical and digital. A problem I am not sure I will ever get on top of (well I have called a ban on buying books but I keep slipping up – bad amazon daily deals and discount offers from Kobo).
After sifting through my tbr pile and discovering a pile of books I don’t remember purchasing! I settled on Bone Season. It didn’t read like the blurb lead me to expect but I really enjoyed it. As I suck at reviews I have settled on describing it as a grown up Galax Arena with hints of The Handmaids Tale and a nod to Dickens all wrapped up in genre fiction with the prerequisite amount of sexual tension. And yay for finishing a new book and being absorbed in the process.
I then went on to read Feed by Mira Grant but I am still working on my trauma at the ending so can only say I really enjoyed it. And I really want the female George’s name to be a nod to the famous five but am not sure its likely.
Right so this has taken me all afternoon and a round of toast with cheese to complete and I really need to finish the things that are daily required around here. At least the parents won’t be home until late so I have a few more hours up my sleeves to get things finished.

Cast-Away with Podcasts

2013-08-25T11:49:26Z

I am have been meaning to write a post along these lines for ages (well since I started my 2013 foray into Hugo voting) and I have definitely discovered a number of the podcasts that I listen to from other peoples blogs and twitters.

So firstly I would like to give a nod to the first podcast I ever listened to in detail.

Napoleon Bonaparte http://napoleonbonapartepodcast.com/

Sound quality was questionable but as I mentioned above it was one of the first podcasts where I listened to every episode from the beginning to the end (and in fact I think I listened to a few twice). It was basically a conversation between two historians charting Napoleon’s life and achievements. It was one of the factors that made me head back to uni to study an Arts Degree (which I am now one subject away from completing). I may never have managed to major in Napoleonic history but it was definitely incredibly inspiring. And in finding the link for this looks like the website still seems to be up and running, and maybe new episodes???

After Napoleon it was a long while before I found another podcast that I loved and listened to religiously. The next one was technically a radio show on Radio National called The Book Show (http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bookshow/ Link to current incarnation.) hosted by Ramona Kaval. It was rudely interrupted by changing the host and the format and I have never been able to go back to it. While it was around though it exposed me to a never ending list of amazing novels and short stories to read both old and new, the use of language and the inner workings of writers minds.

Somewhere after this (I know it was after this because the cryostat at work moved and this is where I did a lot of my podcast listening. Now it’s the microscope and the exercise bike) I discovered Infinite Monkey Cage (http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/timc) also a radio show from BBC. Science and comedy with a range of interesting questions and an incredible array of guests. And because it’s British there’s a Christmas Special (so quaint). So really what’s not to love.

Which brings me to now.:

Currently my favourite podcast is Galactic Suburbia (http://galactisuburbia.podbean.com/)

Blurb: Alisa, Alex and Tansy bring you speculative fiction news, reading notes and chat from the galactic suburbs of Australia.

Good Sound Quality. I am hopelessly behind in culture consumed, internet issues and my ability to articulate feminist issues but it makes me think, it’s funny and I like the fact that not everyone has the same opinion and it doesn’t end in a nasty argument (and it’s a writer, a publisher and a fan writer). It’s kind of addictive really.

My other favouritist podcast of the moment is SF SqueeCast (http://sfsqueecast.com/)

Blurb: Welcome to the SF Squeecast, a Hugo Award winning monthly podcast in which a group of Science Fiction and Fantasy professionals squee about things SFnal, in a neverending panel discussion of vague positivity.
We work in a show-and-tell format, with contributors selecting materials to discuss on the podcast. Contributors will not discuss or promote their own work, or the work of those appearing on the podcast in that episode.

Sound quality is a bit patchy in the first few episodes but it gets better. If for nothing else you should really just listen for Seanan Maguire discussing My Little Ponies (original 80s thanks) and the use of ‘What the fucking fuck!’ Really interesting cast and good guest stars.

And the podcast I am most recently getting into is Verity (http://veritypodcast.wordpress.com/).

Blurb: A Doctor Who Podcast where a rotating cast of six women, from across the globe, talk all things Doctor Who. We have opinions.

Good sound quality (they apologise for any blips it’s kinda cute). It has someone from Galactic Suburbia and someone from SF Squeecast and someone with a Scottish accent so I’m all happy. I have listened to the first four episodes and am really keen to keep listening. I really hadn’t intended to get into Dr Who but somehow a few old Who episodes might of got purchased and I started reading Tansy Rayner Roberts (one of the Verity cast members) review of all things Who for the 50^th Anniversary and yeah here I am listening intently to a podcast about Dr. Who.

I'm currently on the hunt for an archaeology/ancient history podcast to add to this list. So any ideas are welcome!

I have a few other podcasts hanging about on my iphone which I might come back to discuss at a later point but its 9:30 on a Sunday night already so let’s just get this posted shall we….. and then get to fiction writing and start considering my essay (probably not) and then that blessed thing called sleep.

Look, over there, a puppy........

2013-08-24T06:36:14Z

….. a really cute puppy doing tricks, er stealing a long string of cartoon sausages and resulting in a comedic chase with a puppy, a butcher, an old lady and a policemen.

*Sound of vigorous sweeping, cleaning, general thumps and crashes. Running footsteps come closer and stop. A throat clears. Ahem*

Oh what you didn’t see me here. No, no I haven’t been anywhere. I’ve been, you know, regularly updating the blog. What you didn’t see them. Oh dear. You must have just had too much in your blogfeed. Oh no they weren’t that interesting I really wouldn’t bother to go back and look at them. What they’re not there. The dog must have eaten them.

Now that the awkward moment is now over let’s move onto the updating phase shall we. As always seems to happen my carefully planned out year where I achieve everything bar world domination but they give me the entire solar system for just being awesome so I don’t need to scare the general populace with a woman being aggressive. Kind of, just a little, went awry. *Sigh* times a thousand.

However, as I have recently turned over a new leaf in which I am allowing guilt and regret to no longer darken my door and living life like I imagined it would be like when I was a teenager let’s not waste too much time on dwelling on the awry part and instead focus on what I HAVE done. (Oh god! I have actually done something right…. quickly shuffles through diary. Phew!).

The major thing was my trip to Israel. Which is pretty awesome as it means I have been on two overseas travel trips in two years. And I went to a country that I never expected to go. And I went on a real life archaeological dig and dug up real life artefacts and really enjoyed it. And didn’t make too much of an idiot of myself. I have been doing a very inarticulate attempt of explaining to people what it was like. After saying it was awesome, insane, lots of hard work but ultimately fun I kind of run out of things to say and ways to explain what I did. For one it didn’t involve intense numbers of monuments, museums and shopping with lots of photos that never get sorted as my other trips have. And also when you do explain what I did:

Typical Dig Day for an Archaeological Scientist
4:40am Get up – get dressed, battle the five other people you are sharing with for the bathroom, eat a biscuit.
5:10am Load car with all science equipment that couldn’t get loaded the night before.
Drive to site. Try not to fall asleep and follow a conversation about archaeological science where the others forget and start throwing Hebrew words into the mix. Fill in the gaps. Realise you forgot to put on sunscreen again.
5:40am Arrive at site. Spend 5 nerve wracking minutes as the 4wd you are in is driven vertically up a hill of slippery soil and rocks.
Determine you are still alive. Get out of car. Next twenty minutes involve a mad dash to get the lab set up, the generator on and the IR spectrometer plugged in as it comes to room temperature and evil humidity begins its task of destroying a very expensive piece of equipment. At some point in the process have someone spill petrol on you. And then get abandoned to finish the process by yourself as the light is perfect for some photos of what was dug yesterday. Meanwhile remember to be not surly and say good morning to all the other volunteers. All of whom appear to be better morning people than you and are not yet covered in dirt, despite having been on the site as long as you (I have finally after 32 years discovered what my super power is ‘Dirt girl’ ability to attract slightly more dirt than other people).
Until 9:00 am – Dig stuff, field questions from scientists who forget you are not a chemistry major and that this is your first dig and are confused at your lack of ability to understand. And from volunteers who think phytoliths are a visible macroscopic entity. Sorry people they
are not.
9:00am Breakfast. Food, instant coffee and a sit down.
At some point between 9:30 and 1pm decide to quit archaeology. Then find something interesting and decide to keep going.
1pm Off the site and to lunch.
2 – 4 Shower and Nap.
4 – 10 Lab work, dinner, back to the lab and then beer.
10pm BED. Sleep.
Rinse and repeat the next day for the rest of the week.

After that explanation it is hard to explain the fun aspect but it really is. I can’t wait to go back next year. As this is really long and I want to actually post it I am going to pause and come back to other things I have done at some later point.