Last Day 2013

It's the early minutes of the very last day of 2013! Times flies does it not?

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I did start the post about The Time of The Doctor. But I needed time to take it all in. You know what I mean. Gup! And then of course work has been a killer. Stupid Year End!

I'm really tired now. Time to sleep.

From Gallifrey with Love

Goodbye Eleven! I'll miss you!

What can I say? The Time of The Doctor was... overwhelming. It's like the TARDIS. It's jam packed. With way more than even the 50th Anniversary did.

I've watched the episode three times already (I probably should stop) but it still packs a punch. I don't know what to say or how exactly I feel. Which is only to say how dear I hold Doctor Who to my heart.

... No. Sorry. I'm going to have to come back to do this. It's too difficult :(

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Last night was the first Christmas Eve I have ever just fallen asleep at 9 o'clock. I'm getting old!

I hope everyone is having loads of food and enjoying themselves! Happy Christmas!

Secret Santa

Christmas the gift giving season. What's it like in you're work place? Well, in my office we had a Secret Santa. One of my colleagues even dressed up as Santa. People sat on his lap! Although he was quite straight with some of the lads who wanted to! Haha. :D

An office email went around detailing the gist of the Secret Santa specifically stating to purchase a low cost non-food gift for the person. There were some pretty thoughtful and interesting gifts. I went out after work the evening before and purchased a set of beer glasses for my giftee. I had a nightmare trying to wrap it - shameful I know! I've forgotten how to wrap a simple cube! The most simple of prisms! But alas, I did my best and even tied a streamer bow around it.

Disappointing it was that my Secret Santa dashed to Woolies and got me a box of chocolates! But it's still chocolate. I can't complain :) Sadly another colleague opened her present to find black socks! No-no. Not just black socks but white socks too. Like that is any consolation right? Some people just don't put any thought into it.

Boredom

Bored. Bored. BORED! As Sherlock liked to put it. 

Speaking of which Series 3 of Sherlock is not long away! Woo!

It's so strange. I'm so strange. For the past three months I've been stressing out. Wishing and wishing and wishing and wishing and wishing... and WISHING that I didn't have to study. You know that whinging child within us all. But now that I'm free from it all... I'm sad to say it, but I'm bored.

=?

Jelly beans!

I felt like it was time for a new template. What do you think? Colourful no? ;) Mmmm jelly beans! Although, did I tell you the story of how I ate a tube of Happy Lab jelly beans and spouted a gazillion pimples? Oh wells, I may not be able to have that many jelly beans but it still makes me smile seeing so many!

I'm not set on it yet, so you might see some switching and glitching back and forth in the next few weeks. I've-gotta-m-m-make-up-my-mind! Sorry, I was listening to End Love by OK Go.

I did my exam today. It was bad, and let's leave it there.

Back to work tomorrow. Big sighs!

Eye before the storm

Hiiiii...

I have an exam tomorrow :( which only means under this calm persona is an extremely terrified little girl!

Why is this the eye of the storm? Well, you should have seen me two days ago. Absolutely frantic! Right now I'm just tired of it all. There is an inevitable possibility of failing. A bigger probability I would normally accept to going into an exam with but times have changed and this is a new playing field. Those doing their CA would understand.

... wish me luck.

Wedding Bells

Congratulations to my friend on her big day!

Having sad that. Am I the only one who finds weddings a bit boring? :P

I've been to two weddings this year and... Zzzzz...

It's December

Yup! The year is almost over. Blimey, that was quick, yeah?

It's rather been a strange year for me and I reckon life is only gonna get stranger in the years to come. Comes with growing up and seeing everyone else grow up too!

Oh I just want things to halt sometimes. Like right now. Or all the time. I'm literally exhausted. Strange yeah? I'm exhausted and yet I don't want to go to sleep. Ahh, well, I do want to go to sleep but at the same time I have a conflicting desire to stay wake. I want to make the most of what's left of the day to just whine down.

Do you want to hear a confession? I was actually doing work up until 20 minutes ago. Yep, I've become one of those people that work all day and then take their work home with them. Screw you VPN! Look what you have done to me! But then having been a uni student for 5 years and a student all my life prior to that, I'm so use to being able to work on things at any convenient hour of the day I so choose. Which of course includes my evening or even the dead of night.

My next CA exam is 12 days. I should be stress and I know I will be. Which makes me feel weary, that I should be crammy madly every day going forward. But I'm not. I can't seem to tap into that crazed emotion state. So I'm worried that I'm not worried. Which is worring isn't it? Not to mention I havent been studying at all in the last 3 weeks. Not proper studying anyway, which back in the old uni days wouldn't be a big deal. The exams were easier, rote learning could get you by, and there was plenty of time to catch up. Oh, I miss those days!

It's almost Christmas! And the count down begins. For me, the count down will be for The Time of The Doctor! My answer was so predictable wasn't it? :)

Well, one more month. Cheers to that!

Behind the Lens - The Day of the Doctor - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - BBC

I feel like going on a re-blogging rampage, but I will be discreet. This one I just had to because, we didn't get to see a Ten and Rose scene in the 50th Special, so the next best thing is to see a behind the scenes conversation with the two. Ohh it makes me miss the good old Ten and Rose times!

...and one sight that will bring a smile is John Hurt in a fez!

The Day of The Doctor

It. Was. Amazing!
What am I talking about? The Day of The Doctor - 50th Anniversary Special duh! Where to start? Just where to start? Wow!

Ok. Was this the anniversary of anniversaries? Yes! And did they bring it? Hell, yes! I think this episode had everything. A real platter to satisfy every viewer and every fan. There was the suspense, action and explosions. The mystery, conflict and tension. The humour, wit and banter. The hope, soul and legacy. It was definitely a celebration and a cheer to the future.

Spoilers!

Time War Doctor: Why are you pointing your screwdrivers like that?! They're scientific instruments! Not water pistols!

The story starts clean. We can presume it's at least a few months since the events of The Name of The Doctor. And Clara, she has a job! She's a teacher. It seems like we have not returned to full time travelling companion roles, but that The Doctor is still giving his companion a balanced life of battling aliens and adventure, coupled with normality of a home and a job. This is interesting and I wonder if it's going to change in the next series, with the new Doctor to come.

I'm beginning to like Clara. Ooooh yes I said like. In this episode she comes off strong and independent in a more believable way than in previous episodes. She's no longer the plot device and can finally just be the companion and do what companions do best - help The Doctor see. To really see the world and see himself. It is Clara that pulls us back, The Doctors and the audience, from all the madness and chaos. She makes The Doctor see sense, to be the good man he is. The only qualm I have is that she's not as brave as I'd like her to be. She knows what's right but she doesn't speak up, not until The Doctor pauses to acknowledge her distress, and he does so only because her opinion is important to him. If it was Rose, Martha, Donna or Amy they would have been strong enough to say 'no' outright.

I love how the episode dives straight into the excitement with no time to spare. This is a Special and that's how you do it, Sir! But as much as I'd like to praise this episode, I can't all the way through. I thought the story was brilliant and the plot was very strong all the way up until the middle. What happens at the middle? The writer has to reel it in and come up with the resolution. And unfortunately, I don't feel the second half of the episode was as strong. Namely the timey-whimey kicks in and the explanations rely on the speed of articulation over logic and clarity. Let's hoodwink the the viewers!

Anyone lose a fez? ~ Time War Doctor

We saw Ten again! Wooo! And we get to see him in a slightly different light. Well what he gets up to in his own personal regeneration is his business, if you know what I mean! ;) Courting Liz One! And wedding bells it really was!

My favourite part... can you guess? When Ten meets Eleven; and then the two of them meeting Hurty (sorry, I don't want to keep writing the Time War Doctor, it's such a mouthful). It was pure gold! I could watch the scene a billion times and it will never get old! It's Sandshoes, Grandpa and Chinny!! 

Time War Doctor: O.o Really?
Eleven: Yeahh...
Ten: ...really.
Time War Doctor: O.O You're ME. Both of you!
Ten: Y-upp!
Time War Doctor (glances side ways to Ten): Even that one?
Eleven (a little offended): Yesss!!
Ten nods sadly, "yes".
Time War Doctor: You're MY future selves?!
Eleven and Ten: YES!
Time War Doctor: Am I having a midlife crisis!

It's just a wolf. What's that saying of a wolf in sheep's clothing? N-no. Probably not the right analogy here. Or is it? It wasn't Rose! As suspected. But it wasn't Bad Wolf either! It was the most powerful weapon. A weapon so powerful it developed a conscience. I liked this character. I liked that it was something more than it being Rose coming back. But do I like that it wasn't Bad Wolf? I don't know. I mean I liked that it was something new. A new being, being introduced. But this being could have taken any face or form from The Doctors past or future and the story could have worked just as well. Which is why I sort of wished they had put in a more compelling reason for why it chose Rose of all forms. Then, there is also that lingering disapppointment that Rose or at least the Moment in the guise of Rose did not get to interact with Ten or Eleven. All we got was that brief  moment when the two Doctors hear Hurty say "Bad Wolf Girl". The words making more of an impact on Ten, obviously, than Eleven for which hundreds of years have past since his travels with Rose.

Am I missing something? Ah yes there is one more thing I want to mention, or maybe two... or three?

First up, Tom Baker returns! I've not watched any of the Fourth Doctor's episodes but by golly, Baker's performance was otherworldly! That little scene must be my second favourite. There is still so much mystery in the universe and in the Doctor's future too keep us in suspense. It's that spark and charm, this show endures to prove.

Second last, it's 13! So it's official then, we need to do a shuffle of the Doctor's and bump up everyone since Christopher Eccleston. Initially, from The Name of The Doctor, I thought that Hurty wasn't called 'The Doctor', that maybe he went by a different name, possibly The Doctor's real name. As the dialog went "I said he was me but I never said he was 'The Doctor'... The name I chose, is 'The Doctor'. The name you chose, it's like... it's like a promise you make. His the one who broke the promise". I'd thought he'd chose a different name to go by and therefore was not 'The Doctor', and cut from the count. But now, we can welcome Hurty to the family! By the way I thought John Hurt was brilliant as The Doctor. Although, I think its still safe to keep the numbering as is for the sake of convenience. Eleven will still be Eleven as Ten remain Ten. It's just too confusing to change it now.

Lastly, The Doctor is finally going home! I must admit it does 'almost' bring a tear to my eye. It's the heart in the show that keeps beating. It's a new direction for this long tale and I love it! The beauty of this idea makes me want to not wonder to deeply what implications this means for the events of The End of Time. Oh and don't get me started on the logic of how all 13 Doctor's all assembled in this time and place. How did One through Seven even know what the Time War was since they predate its beginnings?

Ahh there are still so many questions. I'd like to know more but do I want all the answers?

There's only one more adventure with the Elevnth Doctor. It's going to be a sad one no doubt! But all the same I want more Who!

That's it for now.

Happy Birthday Doctor Who!

Happy 50th!

 

What does Doctor Who mean to me?

...

In one word.

...

Fun

:)

Doctor Who Animation - 50 Years in Time and Space

An animation by Richard Swarbrick

 Oh my god. Pretty cool right?

No B.E.Ms

No bug-eyed monsters! - An Adventure in Space and Time - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - BBC Two

So what do you think? Uh?... Do you think it's worth watching?  

Well I do!

I wasn't exactly convinced by the trailer clip they'd launched a couple weeks ago. It looked corny. But this! This makes me think it might be worth a viewing. There's something genuine there.

When he said "tin monsters" I automatically thought of the War Machines. Not exactly tin but you get the gist. "Mutations," well what are the Daleks?  ...and brains in glass jars... Ha! How about a Dalek Prime Minister in a glass jar?

Happy Doctor Who Week! To all the YouTube junkies out there! Oh and if you haven't already, check out Doomsday How It Should Have Ended. Ahhahaha! It puts a spin on one of the saddest Doctor Who moments.

I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye. ~ The Doctor

=...(

Wet and Gloomy

It's cold. It's rainy. I feel a headache coming along. So what up? I'm not gonna do any study tonight, and with a week's forecast of rain, rain and more rain, I'm skipping tomorrow nights CA lecture too. Shhhh!

Big sighs. It was a long day and I'm glad to be home resting or I will be in a few hours. Did I mention I love sleep? I can't believe it's only Monday. Literally! This morning we had our monthly team meeting at work (which I completely forgot and had to be reminded), anyway we where up to the award part (we have a team morale award thing you see) and mid way through someone comments "...we should have waited till Wednesday!" - I really don't know what context the comment was made under, but I suddenly realised it was Monday ONLY! Not to mention we were only three hours into the week! :( Why do you torture me? This isn't the first time a working Monday has felt like a week had past.

My bottle of Missha Time Revolution - Night Repair serum arrived today. I love opening packages! One of the perks of online shopping. The serum appears to be thicker than the samples I'd tried before, but I'm interested to see the effects of this... if any.

Well, that's it. This was really a random post and if you stuck with me to this end, thank you! I will definitely do a post, post watching the 50th Anniversary. Woo! This may be a stupid dilemma but I'm contemplating if I should wake up early to watch it with the rest of the world... or sleep in (my precious sleep) and stream it at my convenience and comfort. Ah decisions, decisions!

Anyway that's it for now. 

One week!

The wait is on!

It feels like there is a present everyday because the BBC has gifted us another preview clip of the 50th Anniversary Special for Doctor Who. This time the fez returns... with a vengeance! Ah ha. No. -_-"

Ahem. But let me just say, Ten in a fez. :O !!!!

Enough said.

The Night

I'm a doctor... but probably not the one you expected. ~ The Eighth Doctor

Damn right!

The Night of the Doctor: A Mini Episode - Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor Prequel - BBC

 

The Day

"Great men are forged in fire.
                       

                                      It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame."

The Day of the Doctor: The Second TV Trailer - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - BBC One

This looks absolutely epic! And there is not long to wait! I haven't done a post like this with the break down of something in a while, so I thought it was time to get back on the horse. What do they say about horses? No, wait that's bicycles!

The trailer! We can see Daleks, galactic space war, the destruction of Gallifrey and its glass dome citadel, Zygons, and UNIT.

Ten and Eleven comparing screwdriver (Ahem!), brainy specs (Ohhh, lovely! Hehe), showing their equally stubborn natures, siding with each other - arms crossed and all, and the classic line "Oh, I see you've redecorate! ...I don't like it." Ha! The two Doctors butting noses and being chummy is certainly what I look forward to the most!

Rose! or should I say Bad Wolf? Not in this trailer, but the slightly shorter first trailer, we clearly see the presence of Bad Wolf. The mysterious nature of the scenes between the Time War Doctor and cryptic Rose suggests a significant involvement of Bad Wolf in the events to be seen, and that this Rose that we see, we can suspect, may not be the companion version who had been travelling with Ten, nor the Rose residing in Pete's World. If this is the case, I have to say I'm liking the sound of it.

If Rose is not a companion, then where does this place the Ten that we see? Cue the appearance of a young Good Queen Bess. If that isn't a clue then I don't know what is. Do I hear wedding bells? Probably not, this won't likely be one of those weddings. Oh, and there's Ten expressing that "for once I'd like to know where I'm going," to be met ferociously by Eleven, "NO. You really wouldn't!". Ten sounds afraid but Eleven knows better. So I believe this is the version of Ten between the Waters of Mars and The End of Time.

Lastly, the Time War Doctor. Of course that's not his name, but for now we'll just call him that. I like how we still don't know too much, that the mystery still shrouds everything. Why is he looking for The Doctor?

And we will soon find out!

Yo, fools!

Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. - Mark Twain

Volume and Profanity

Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience. -  George Carlin

wip lp5

How many months has it been? ...six ...no definitely more than six. I - MUST - MUSTER - STRENGTH to finish this portrait!!

lp5

It seems that I don't engage my audience enough. Can you not guess who it is? Maybe I'm too hopeful. Do I even have an audience? o.O

50 Years!!

Can't wait!

...and side note, clearly that's a wig!

'Doctor Who: 50 Years' Trailer - The Day of the Doctor - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - BBC One

Back from Mulwala...

Back from Mulwala, the middle of nowhere. The city always has the best food! :)

There was a goblin

There was a goblin

                      or a... trickster 

                                or a warrior. 

A nameless, terrible thing

                soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. 

The most feared being 

                            in all the cosmos. 

And nothing could stop it 

                                   or hold it 

                                                or reason with it. 

One day it would just drop out of the sky 

                                              and tear down your world...

                                  ~ The Doctor.

I really need me some Who.

How Do You Define Yourself?

Because all individuals are extraordinary...

How Do You Define Yourself?  - Alan Watts

wip lp4

lp4

What If Money Was No Object?

The best advice...

Alan Watts - What If Money Was No Object? - Remastered

How to draw... #2.1

Ok sorry, I wrote Rule 2 in a jiffy. But I'm not saying it's not true.

For me toning doesn't come naturally and I have been criticised before. But that's because my origins weren't from realism. My first love was Cubism. So my early attention to light and shadow was limited if not any at all. My priority was form, texture and colour. It was only when I began to slide from the abstract, the whimsy of visual art to the delicate still life I faced my first challenge. I was once criticised for my preliminary canvas painting of orchards during a painting studio. I was told to look where the light was coming from and where the resulting shadow would be and try again. You see, although it was a still life, the flowers were real and I drew them from life but the entire canvas composition was entirely made up and so must the lighting. Subsequently, the next day, I painted over the entire canvas with a selection of whites and brown in contrast to the prior vibrant but flat pinks and reds. I'll show her! When the tutor came round again, though she was pleased with the improvement, she seemed rather astound at my abrupt turn around. I guess she didn't think I'd repaint the entire canvas.

Now days, it's a whole new approach. It's portraiture in graphite. The pro is that it's a medium that is simple to use - we've been using pencil since we were toddlers - and it's easy to correct mistakes. The challenge is more detail is required to achieve the realistic effect so more patience and care.

How to daw... #2

Ok where was I?

Rule 2: Light, shadow, tone.

No screw the lot. I still suck at these. My advice choose a point of light source and practice. If realism isn't you're thing then it doesn't matter anyway. But if realism is your thing you're most likely using a reference picture or drawing from life so back to Rule 1.

How to draw...

I'm procrastinating.

There are so many YouTube clips that claim to show you how to draw something realistically but really it's not the how but simply watch me draw.

So I thought I'd write about something a little different. I'm not claiming you will learn how to draw from reading this but maybe find your own approach to learning this skill if you so wish.

Rule 1: What you see, not what you think it looks like.

I've always believed that everyone has the ability to draw - If you can write. You can draw. Writing in itself is like drawing. Letters are symbols after all, and symbols stem from pictures. I had a friend in high school - well I also knew her in primary school - she chuckled at this belief. She'd claimed many times that she could not draw and based on her outputs it's hard to argue against her. But put it to a simple test and I soon realised it was not that she couldn't draw it was more she didn't try. Her overwhelming belief that she could not, paralyzed any effort.

Have you ever participated in a simple realistic drawing exercise where four people sit around a table with a still life arrangement placed in the centre? Each individual attempts to draw the objects as they are sitting in front of them for just a few minutes. The participants are then instructed to rotate seats and move around the table but leave the drawing they were working on for the next person taking their seat; and so each individual will have to continue the work of their predecessor and draw the objects from each of the 4 perspectives.

I remember doing this activity with a glass mug and an interesting-looking hammer. I started my drawing, paying attention to the shape of the forms I could see from where I was sitting and transferring it onto the page. Moments later I then moved to the seat next to me where this friend had sat as instructed. And to this day I can still visualise the sketch I saw all those years ago as I looked down at her drawing. It was a sketch of the still life sitting in front of me - yes. But it resembled an abstract drawing as if she had only read a description of the composition and promptly attempted to depict it rather than drawing what she could see in front of her. The oval shape I saw as the rim of the mug was depicted as a full fledged circle and drawn physically larger than the body of the rest of the mug. The mug handle put simply as a double C and the hammer... well, remember how I mentioned it was unusual-looking, she had replaced the hammer head with a plain regular one. I realised that she had not tried to look at what she could see. Instead she succumbed to her belief and drew haphazardly of what she knew of the shapes.

Ask yourself, what do you actually see?

****To be continued... stay tuned.

Because I love sleep...

I love sleep. I love it above so many and possibly all other things in life. Unfortunately I just come off as a sloth to my peers. They just don't get it.

Russell Foster: Why do we sleep?

Who am I? II

Hello!! From home.

It's been a long week and it's strange how it feels like I never went away at all.

Anyway here's a little tease of something I was working on long before my little trip. This is not the most current wip of the drawing. I think it had more potential then than it does now. I got sloppy with the shading. I'm not going to show you its current state because I can still perfect it. I hope!

Can you guess who it is??

wip lp1

Home time ...almost

My last night in Lithgow... and it's pouring. Lucky I'm in doors with the lovely heater. I can't say the same for this morning though. I went rifle shooting... In. The. Rain. The cold, cold rain! Ok you may be thinking I'm missing the plot here. And you may be right. Rain is not as exciting as getting to handle a firearm. But just to emphasise: it was really cold.  But the the rifle thing, that was cool! Now don't go thinking I'm a gun enthusiast or anything! Because I'm not. And I show very little interest in weaponry. But this experience is probably something I'll never get the chance to do again. Plus, it was a controlled test shooting at a patch of empty sloping grass and at nothing alive. So don't you go all hippie on me.

So I'm finally going to be heading home tomorrow morning! I'd be excited if it wasn't for the fact that I'm so ready to nod off. It's like I'm about to head back to reality because I'm been away for so long. But what I really want is to head back to reality to sleep. Ha!

That's it. I've got to nod off.

Less than one week...

Less than one week till I will find myself back in home sweet Sydney!

My second week in Lithgow went like *click* and I really enjoyed myself. But now into my third week and I really think it's time to head home. What can I say? I'm not one for long trips. =/

One thing I have found is that I really crave getting back to my drawings! You know how people crave chocolate? Well, I guess I'm weird and I crave making a drawing. No. I crave chocolate too! I'm not that weird... Or am I? O.o

Unfortunately, I didn't bring any of my gear. Ergo no drawing for me, and no drawing for me to share with you, i.e. no drawing for you. Ha! But who am I kidding it's really just me who suffers isn't it? Anyone care to share?

Anyway got to go. Laters!

Hello from Lithgow!

Helloooooooo!

I'm here in Lithgow where it's so cold tonight for some reason. I've been here for a week and it's felt cool but I haven't felt the chill to my bones until now!

I haven't lived up to my word and the rest of my Doctor Who episode posts never came did they? No, they didn't. Sorry, my bad! - Well, of course it's my bad. Ha!

I had planned to come up here to Lithgow and have plenty of free evenings but I've been snowballed in by my commitment to become a Chartered Accountant, with the immense amount of studying. Yes, I'm an accountant. Are you shocked? Although, I have a strange preference for the title, Bean Counter. Ha! Let me just say it was NOT my career ambition as a child. Could a child be any less creative if there ever was one that wanted to be an accountant when they grew up!

Ok, so you definitely know what's not coming... any posts on Doctor Who any time soon. Which means this is one of my rambling posts to let you know I'm not dead and you have not been abandoned!

That's all for now! Laters.

Salvage of a Lifetime

Here's my catch up ...because I promised. Ah, but my memory eludes me. Without watching it again, I'll see if some Youtube snippets will do the trick.

Journey to the Centre of the Tardis. I liked this episode. It was fun. But - there's always a 'but', isn't there - I think it could have been more. Only because the "infinite" just didn't feel like infinite. Sure we saw a variety of what lies within the "bigger on the inside" but when Clara only runs past several of the rooms particularly the deluxe sized swimming pool - which mind you reminded me of the Leisure Palace spa Donna Noble was relaxing by in Midnight - and not go inside. I mean, Come ON! I did however, like the feel of the endless corridors, going round and round and round, to trap her victims. Smart Tardis. 

I feel like the premises of this episode would have been fab for a double episode plot, with more to explore, Tardis-wise and character. I've done a little reminiscing - Oh how I loved The Rebel Flesh/ The Almost People.

The Doctor: ...There's no way I can save her now... She's just always been, there for me and taken care of me and now it's my turn and I don't know what to do. It-It-It-It's just...

Oh Doctor!

There's actually a lot of interesting scenes that I liked in this episode but I especially love this scene in the heart of the Tardis. For a brief moment The Doctor is utterly helpless and defeated. It's a sad and touching moment. A beautiful one because Matt Smith delivered it wonderfully. Anddd then the timey-whimey sets in - which to be honest didn't quite make sense. But let's just leave it alone.

The Doctor tells Clara that time can mend all as a consolation for her memory loss. Does The Doctor not seem rather selfish and uncaring? The playful banter between the two is brilliant, but it's sad that there does not appear to be anymore to their relationship than a bit of fun and The Doctor's obsession to solve who Clara is.

Ok. That's it. The next catch up will come soon.

Vivid Sydney

First of all. Hey. How you all? I've been a slacker. My keyboard's even dusty. Eww!

Secondly, Matt Smith's leaving Doctor Who. Arghhh! Noooooooo!! How can he?! I don't think I'm ready for that. I was hoping for at least one more series and a bit more notice. But two more Specials and he's out of here end of Christmas :O All aboard the emotional rollacoaster!

Thirdly, who enjoyed Doctor Who at Vivid? Hands up. Hands up! You can count me out. Bloody cold nights rather be by a heater. But here it is on Youtube :p

BBC Worldwide Australia and New Zealand - Doctor Who

Lastly, I will go back and do the commentray of the rest of the episodes I neglected. Eventually... but don't hold your breath!

Hide and Seek

The Doctor: Boo! Haha! Hello! I’m looking for a ghost!

Yay! Another Doctor Who episode! I’m starting to get use to the regular weekly viewing. Too bad it’s only for another few more weeks.

Hide is… a good episode. Unfortunately I can’t be more raving about it. I’m not one for the scary, not that Hide is scary but it does have the necessary eerie tone of a ghost story.  

There’s a lot to see in this episode all layered in. The Doctor is a “liar” as we have always known but even more interesting, “he has a slither of ice in his heart”. Oooh! And well, the Tardis is apparently like a “cat”. Is it because it purrs? No. No. It’s just slow to trust, that's it.

Clara: …one minute you’re in 1974 looking for ghosts. But all you have to do is open your eyes and talk to whoever is standing there. To you I haven’t even been born yet… and to you I’ve been dead a hundred billion years... Is my body out there somewhere, in the ground?

Interesting point of view, but, if time is "really just a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey stuff" to The Doctor it does not matter. It's the people you're with and the experiences you have that count, regardless of when and where, in or out of ones correct time. We all have our own person futures, our own death, what counts is now. 

Next up, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.

Cold Sub

A cold, wet submarine. No. I know what you were thinking. Not a cold sandwich from Subway!

Cold War… this episode is… brilliant! The first episode I’ve seen in a long time that I’ve loved from start to finish and definitely the best of Series 7 so far. Mark Gatiss, you’ve certainly out done yourself!  

The Doctor: Professor I could kiss you!

Professor Grisenko: If you insist.

The Doctor: o.O ...Later.

The writing is tight. The plot is sound. I’ve missed episodes that actually focus on the adventure and the problem at hand. I feel the string of recent episodes have been used merely as a tool to set up the old/new companions, leaving episodes with rather rushed endings and weak resolutions.

Cold War is thrilling and suspenseful. Based on a serious historical period and confined spaces aboard a submarine, the episode feels more real and enjoyable, with heightened emotions and intense fears. I particularly loved the moment with the Professor where Clara realises the realism of the danger that exists around them. Up until this point, it’s been the adrenalin, the thrill, the excitement of saving worlds. It’s all rather fanciful and sometimes we forget the real horrors when we’re with The Doctor.

The Doctor: Skaldak won’t talk to you. You’re, you’re an enemy soldier.

Captain Zhukov: And how would he know that?

The Doctor: A soldier knows another soldier. He’ll smell it on you, smell it on you a mile off.

Captain Zhukov: And he wouldn’t smell it on you Doctor?

Touché.

We see Clara receiving more of the usual time travel 101, on the TARDIS translation matrix and history in flux. And on that note of the translation matrix, the gift from the TARDIS, does it stay with the companions even after they leave? Wouldn't that be handy?

Next up, Hide.

soul = story

Last time I said I had hopes for something grander and The Rings of Akhaten certainly served up a bigger dish. It was aliens galore! A field day for any Whovian.

The Doctor: I've seen bigger.
Clara: Really?!
The Doctor: Are you joking! It's massive!

The episode opens superbly for the first half - history of Clara, alien solar system, Clara's l'il sole adventure... Until the soul eating - no, story eating - no memory eating - no - gosh I don't know,  some live eating parasitic sun wakes with the munchies. Muahahahaha! This is where things get confusing.

Soul = story, and The Doctor fights. He fights the living sun with a story. By letting the sun have his memories. Eat his story. Um. What? If a parasitic alien sun eats my story? I suppose that's death. Or is it memory loss? But, despite the confusion, Matt Smith gives one of the most remarkable monologues of The Doctor. "I walked away from the last Time War. I marked the passing of the Time Lords..." - Nah you really should watch it.

What's the next one? Cold War. Ok, see you then!

rycbar123

The Doctor: "I'm the Doctor. I'm an alien from outer space. I'm a thousand years old, I've got two hearts, and I can't fly a plane!"

It's been a snail of a month, one that has crawled by. I just had a wonderful five day Easter weekend and boy do I miss the time, the time to do the little things, the time to go for walks, to experiment with desserts, the time to just settle into a task rather than everything done by appointment. I miss time.

Speaking of time... the long wait for the new episodes of Doctor Who has finally arrived! But was the wait worth it? I feel like the wait has diluted my affection for the show. Don't get me wrong, I still love the Doctor but the loss of interest, whatever degree, is the risk of delaying air dates.

So... The Bells of Saint John.

Monk in 1207: "Wake the abbot! The bells of Saint John are ringing!"

Huh? Translation for the 21st century Whovian: Go get The Doctor, his phone box is ringing of the hooks!

I must say the opening scene in 1207 Cumbria feels rather disconnected from the rest of the episode mainly because there is no explanation to why on earth The Doctor chose that time and location to mull over a Miss Clara, especially given the prequel clip in the playground.

The episode as a whole is quite enjoyable with a very classy execution. But didn't it ring a little deja vu? Faces in monitors. The Doctor on a motorcycle. An alien feeding on human minds... Does it bring to memory The Doctor with a 50's Elvis hairstyling, Rose in a pretty pink dress and that creepy line: "Feed me!"? It did for me, but just subtly so even with the similarities you're still able to enjoy the adventure on its own merits.

Unfortunately, the adventure just didn't quite satiate. It was a good episode with some great scenes, but I couldn't help but feel I had the appetite for something grander. Am I being too demanding? No, I don't think so. I'm just being a fan.

As for the new companion. We've seen her in the future, in the past and now in the present day. Clare 1, 2 and 3. Is she really the same person? They/she, all have similar traits. Sassy, curious, intelligent and after being spliced a computer skills package, Clara 3 and 1, are both quite tech savvy. I haven't mention if I like her yet. Ohhh, but that is something a character must earn and Clara Oswald is yet to earn it, which I have no doubt time will take care of. I definitely liked Oswin when we first met her. I guess we shall see if that is her future in some way.

NEXT TIME. THE RINGS OF AKHATEN.

Missing February

Oh look it's already March. What a slacker I've been! What happened to February? Erhm... work. Not that, that should be an excuse. But, being tired after work is. Yep, that's a legit excuse that stands to reason.

To be honest I did want to write a post about my transition from uni to work. But again, every time I had the chance I was more in the mood to chill with a drama for the night. Same goes with my drawing. Boy do I miss having endless amounts of leisurely time! If I could just turn back the clock. Or get my hands on a Tardis. Yes, one more month till Doctor Who!

So... yeah... uni to work. That'll have to be a post for another time. Just dropped by to say "Hi" really. Hiiii!

And for now, Bye!

D. Tennant - The Doctor

Oh, the rain! How I wish it would stop! And my thoughts to those in Queensland.

I start work tomorrow so I really wanted to finish the drawing below. It is of course the Tenth Doctor. And before you start, yes I remember stating that I had no intention to draw Ten but after some thought, I mean, why not? So I did. 

 

D. Tennant - The Doctor, 2013.

I'm not really happy with how this one came out. Not only is it rushed because I wanted it finished, but the proportioning is wrong. I could try to fix it, but why not just start a new one then? So I will promise to do another. When? I can't say but it is a promise.

I guess the one exciting thing about this drawing is I cracked open the 6B. So I've gone darker like I have never gone before! Haha! 

Anyway, I know it's flawed but I hope you like it.

Duck!

Yes, DUCK! No something hard isn't hurtling towards your head. Just a giant rubber duckie in the harbour.

Can you stare deep into those big black eyes and resist a smile? 

Rubber Duck, Sydney Festival 2013, Darling Harbour, Artist: Florentijn Hofman.

Heat

Oh this weather is hhhh... It's so hot and stuffy. And it's given me a headache. I hate this weather! It's not that it isn't cool outside, but there is no breeze and everything that was baked yesterday is still emitting heat! The carpet, the walls and the furntiure. Stupid heat. It makes everything un-enjoyable. So go outside! But then I don't have my computer and I can't have that. Yeah, I should get a laptop/tablet, but I'm more a desktop-kinda-gal.

Like a bored little soul I am, here's my new wip. Can you guess who it is?

It's coming along really slowly so I wouldn't have any hopes of it being completed any time soon. And sadly, because I start work at the end of the month, if I don't find the motivaion soon, this little bud won't receive his final pencil stroke for a long time.  

Laters for now.

Happy New Year, 2013!

Welcoming 2013! Happy new year too all! And have a blast! :D