Mystery sky
3 January 2007 20:26![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kribuJust noticed that there is a rather full moon up there in the sky. And clouds rushing around, gliding past it at gread speed. It might be a little windy, I think. I'm almost tempted to go for a few more moon pictures, but I think I'd like a lens with more tele reach for that... ah yes, I was planning to get a 70-300 mm one at some point.
So, 2007. Happy new year, anyone reading this! My new year's eve was as boring as they come... was surfing around randomly and trying to survive the sounds of the Great Battle outside, which seems to have lasted a good several hours. And trying to survive the neighbours. Eurgh. I really don't appreciate Russian disco (well, any kind of such horrid sounds, really) at full volume at 5 AM, with drunk people "singing" along to it, also at full volume. Bleh.
But I survived, and it's 2007. Will take some getting used to.
After not having watched much anything lately, I had a very entertainment-filled evening yesterday. I'm all caught up with various spin-offs of the Doctor Who world now (spin-offs of the television kind, anyway). The Sarah Jane Adventures fortunately did not disappoint. Yes, it's kiddie stuff, and quite obviously so, but not too kiddie for me to enjoy. Decent effects, some fun dialogue, decent plot (for a kiddie show), and the kids themselves were not that bad (well, two of them anyway). And Sarah Jane was fabulous. Elisabeth Sladen really does look great for a 58-year-old, and I enjoyed the little mentions of her original time... as well as those lovely pictures of the Brig.
Torchwood... Captain Jack Harkness was really rather good. Really. And the season finale, even in spite of some completely rubbish bits (and some pieces stolen directly from Angel), was not as bad as I feared. And it did actually end intriguingly enough... clever bastards, now I'll have to watch both Torchwood series 2 and Doctor Who series 3 to find out just what the hell that was all about.
As the season's over, I've been trying to form some coherent opinions of the whole thing. Not easy. It does have some promise, and I dearly hope the next series will manage to build on the strengths of the format and avoid the, um, attempts at being "adult". For me, the most effective episodes were clearly the ones that actually dealt with issues in a more dignified, mature way, and not the adolescent sense of "ooh, blood, gore, swearing, sex" adultness. And I realised that the episodes that really stood out for me all had to do with the past - Ghost Machine, Small Worlds, Out of Time and Captain Jack Harkness, which were just enough to make me want to keep watching it.
I've also decided that at least as long as I'm allowed, I will "take it easy" with work. In other words, I've been careful to watch my workload and adjust it myself since getting back to work after my sick leave - I've decided to keep my daily load at 6000-6500 words, which I've steadily managed, and try to avoid doing either more words or more hours. Six hours is the absolute maximum I can take now, I think - keeping it at five is better. At least my back aches, which were starting to become pure torture before my extended sick leave, have got less now, on most days they're not even there, so it seems five hours is what my back can actually take of that chair.
I am feeling somewhat guilty over doing short days, but I've got to the point where I do need to take care of myself first and foremost. And objectively speaking, I don't think I'm being lazy or unfair to others, as 6000 words a day should be considered reasonable, I think.
So, 2007. Happy new year, anyone reading this! My new year's eve was as boring as they come... was surfing around randomly and trying to survive the sounds of the Great Battle outside, which seems to have lasted a good several hours. And trying to survive the neighbours. Eurgh. I really don't appreciate Russian disco (well, any kind of such horrid sounds, really) at full volume at 5 AM, with drunk people "singing" along to it, also at full volume. Bleh.
But I survived, and it's 2007. Will take some getting used to.
After not having watched much anything lately, I had a very entertainment-filled evening yesterday. I'm all caught up with various spin-offs of the Doctor Who world now (spin-offs of the television kind, anyway). The Sarah Jane Adventures fortunately did not disappoint. Yes, it's kiddie stuff, and quite obviously so, but not too kiddie for me to enjoy. Decent effects, some fun dialogue, decent plot (for a kiddie show), and the kids themselves were not that bad (well, two of them anyway). And Sarah Jane was fabulous. Elisabeth Sladen really does look great for a 58-year-old, and I enjoyed the little mentions of her original time... as well as those lovely pictures of the Brig.
Torchwood... Captain Jack Harkness was really rather good. Really. And the season finale, even in spite of some completely rubbish bits (and some pieces stolen directly from Angel), was not as bad as I feared. And it did actually end intriguingly enough... clever bastards, now I'll have to watch both Torchwood series 2 and Doctor Who series 3 to find out just what the hell that was all about.
As the season's over, I've been trying to form some coherent opinions of the whole thing. Not easy. It does have some promise, and I dearly hope the next series will manage to build on the strengths of the format and avoid the, um, attempts at being "adult". For me, the most effective episodes were clearly the ones that actually dealt with issues in a more dignified, mature way, and not the adolescent sense of "ooh, blood, gore, swearing, sex" adultness. And I realised that the episodes that really stood out for me all had to do with the past - Ghost Machine, Small Worlds, Out of Time and Captain Jack Harkness, which were just enough to make me want to keep watching it.
I've also decided that at least as long as I'm allowed, I will "take it easy" with work. In other words, I've been careful to watch my workload and adjust it myself since getting back to work after my sick leave - I've decided to keep my daily load at 6000-6500 words, which I've steadily managed, and try to avoid doing either more words or more hours. Six hours is the absolute maximum I can take now, I think - keeping it at five is better. At least my back aches, which were starting to become pure torture before my extended sick leave, have got less now, on most days they're not even there, so it seems five hours is what my back can actually take of that chair.
I am feeling somewhat guilty over doing short days, but I've got to the point where I do need to take care of myself first and foremost. And objectively speaking, I don't think I'm being lazy or unfair to others, as 6000 words a day should be considered reasonable, I think.
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Date: 6 January 2007 15:16 (UTC)Just watched SJA and Torchwood 12 and 13 last night. I quite liked The Sarah Jane Adventures - Elisabeth Sladen was brilliant (I loved the somewhat edgy, "mad woman" apporach, instead of her just being the "nice old auntie"). And I want a closer look at her attic ... :-). I thought the girl who plays Maria was really good, and I liked Luke as well. The other girl (I can't remember her name) got on my nerves a bit, but that seemed to have been her purpose in this episode. I hope they tone her down a bit.
It's obviously a children's show, but it's not dumbed down, and there's enough intersting stuff to keep me watching. And Sarah Jane! Yay! I liked the general tone of the show - not too hyper, which is always a danger when it comes to kid's shows. I think I like their approach to "for kids" better than their "for adults".
For me, the most effective episodes were clearly the ones that actually dealt with issues in a more dignified, mature way, and not the adolescent sense of "ooh, blood, gore, swearing, sex" adultness.
Absolutely. I hope that we get to see more of that next season.
And I realised that the episodes that really stood out for me all had to do with the past - Ghost Machine, Small Worlds, Out of Time and Captain Jack Harkness, which were just enough to make me want to keep watching it.
Those are my favourites as well. I really liked 10 and 12. It seemed that Jack alomst fitted into 1941 better than 2006. I thought that the relationship with the real Jack Harkness was quite well written and believable, and quite touching, in contrast to the forced "Tosh has to have a gay relationship as well" bit of episode 7.
Episode 13 wasn't all that bad, I thought. The monster thingy at the end was quite weak, and there were a few other moments that I didn't particularily like, but there was good stuff as well. And oh my, the bit with Rhys was freaky *shudders*. I must say - hearing the Tardis at the end of the epsidoes was very weird - I must say, I'm really curious where this is going to go, especially since Torchwood is an enemy (of sorts) of the Doctor.
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Date: 7 January 2007 16:02 (UTC)You and me both, yes. I did love the Brig pictures up there, placed so prominently! Not just going after the kiddie audience, obviously. ;-)
I thought the girl who plays Maria was really good, and I liked Luke as well. The other girl (I can't remember her name) got on my nerves a bit
Yeah, I felt the same way. I'm glad Maria seems like she'll be cool (in a good way!) - the character isn't written in an annoying way, and the actor seems good too. Hard to tell about Luke yet, in the sense of what he'll turn out to be like, but he wasn't annoying either. The other girl (Kelsey I think?) did seem rather annoying, in the worst sort of cool teenager girl way, but if she's meant to hang around in the future too, maybe she'll become more tolerable.
It seemed that Jack alomst fitted into 1941 better than 2006.
He does seem a lot more at home there. I think this is why I took so easily to the character in The Empty Child - he was so... perfect as a dashing World War 2 pilot character (or one pretending to be that, anyway). It suited the character and the actor both a lot better than the modern-day Jack Harkness we've mostly been stuck with in Torchwood.