Geek Love

6:45pm: I was tagged! (The Closest Book Meme)
I was tagged by bruyere_75 for the following book meme:

Grab the nearest book, open to page 123, find the fifth sentence.Then post the next three sentences. Tag five people and post a comment.

I've got a number of books near me, but almost ALL of them are thin. Seriously. The two closest which are right on my desk? Graphic novels Scarlet Traces by Ian Edginton and D'Israeli and Rex Mundi, Book 1: The Guardian of the Temple by Arvid Nelson, EricJ, and Jeremy Cox; both are less than 100 pages.

The closest book to me that has a page 123 is Homespun Handknit: Caps, Socks, Mittens & Gloves edited by Linga Ligon.

The fifth line:
Work even on these 26 sts until work measures 1 in (2 1/2 cm) from bridge.

It's instructions for a pair of gloves with a zig-zag pattern by Betty Amos.

Ever since I got a spinning wheel for Christmas (*hugs the parents*), I've spent my time equally either spinning or knitting. I've acquired a number of books on spinning, this one from a Ravelry member that was destashing it. I love Ravelry. I've been really active since the start of the year, especially in some of the fandom boards (especially the *Who*-related fandom boards). I'm a regular poster in two of the three *Who* related boards (Who Knits? and I Dye for Doctor Who) and in the *Torchwood* board.

It's awesome to see how many folks in fandom are also fiber artists.

(I'm actually running a survey/contest in Ravelry in the *Torchwood* board, so if you're a member of Ravelry, check it out! If you're on Ravelry, definitely drop me a like. I'm Iko there too.)

The closest non-knitting/spinning book near me is Hogfather by Terry Pratchet.

Page 123, sentence 5:
"All of them flowers." (Chickenwire)

Last weekend, I watched Hogfather, with Marc Warren and Michelle Dockerty and Ian Richardson. I loved it! I watched it because I saw a fandom secret that said they shipped Teatime with Susan, Death's daughter. That totally intrigued me, so I got myself a copy and thoroughly enjoyed it. So, I told Mike and he loaned a library copy out for me to read. I've gotten as far as page 5. Spinning, knitting, or fandom squeeing seem to get in the way of me reading it. (See: my newly acquired The Lost Room obsession.)

I dislike tagging people, so I'm not going to tag anyone (I know, I fail at memes). I don't mind being tagged! I just... dislike tagging others, but feel free to take the meme and continue rolling with it.

3:17pm: Late, again, to the fandom party
So...

About a week and a half ago, I stumbled upon The Lost Room.

To be honest, I have no idea who turned me onto the program, or how, or why... but I LOVE IT (whomever is out there in my flist that mentioned it in the past two weeks or so, speak up and let me know because seriously, I have no memory of it and I want to shower you with praise). Not only do I love it, but Mike loves it too. It reminds us of some of the darker RPG settings that we enjoy like Over the Edge and Chill and Unknown Armies (especially UA). Almost no one we know plays these settings, but we love them. I am especially enamored of stories where there is a moral dilemma: having to choose is something that I as a player love to do. I become emotionally invested because of that choice... and I love having to deal with the consequences.

We've only watched the first two parts. The third part is going to be for another time: 87-minute episodes make for a nice evening's viewing and we're taking the show slow and together (typically, I'll watch a program in its entirety to "screen" it for him, since he's got really picky tastes).

The fandom for the show is really small, and I'm really late to the game, but it's nice to add this show to my list of fannish obsessiveness.

I even made icons!

11:18am: Question about "Fires of Pompeii"
( Behind a spoiler cut because I don't want to spoil folks )

6:50pm: Doctor Who, S4E2 - The Fires of Pompeii
My thoughts on the latest episode. It was good and there were many fun (and funny!) things in it. And scary bits (but scary in a good way).

( Spoiler cut for S4E2 )

6:00pm: Grrrrrrrr. Do not piss off the knitter.
mazzmatazz has created a really delightful pattern for the Adipose creature from the first episode of Doctor Who, Season 4.

Well, it turns out that user on ebay is selling the pattern and Mazzmatazz is furious about it. The pattern is being distributed FOR FREE on Mazzmatazz's website and it's completely wrong that someone is attempting to sell the pattern.

Here is the offending ebay item.

Please let people know that the pattern is available FOR FREE so that they don't need to give this person any money and please report this person if you can.

GRR.

ETA: Update! The offending item has been removed from eBay. Huzzah! Hopefully folks can keep vigilant to make sure that no one else tries to exploit the gift that Mazzmatazz has given to us fans. Pass on the news that the pattern is currently FREE!

ETA AGAIN: Whomever this person is really deserves some awful punishment or something because they have listed the item again. Why can't this idiot figure out that they shouldn't be distributing the pattern in the first place? I've gone back and reported this one too. AUGH.

9:41am: The Torchwood Rumor Mill
So...

I read a rumor about Torchwood Season 3 casting. No, not the news that has been around for a while.

( Do not click if you're not interested. )

Feeling a bit out of the loop this morning.

9:08pm: Doctor Who, Season 4, Episode 1 - Partners in Crime
( My thoughts on the episode, as I was watching. Spoilers ahoy! )

9:49pm: *FLAIL*
Words cannot express how much I want to see The Fall (see the hi-res trailer).

It's being released on May 9th in New York. I'm hyperventilating, that's how excited I am.

Directed by freaking TARSEM, with costumes by Eiko Ishioka with Lee Pace as the lead? YUM!

9:34am: Yea, I will weep a while longer.
They just published the first photographs of Russell Crowe filming in D.C. for State of Play.

I'm hoping that I will be shown to be very very wrong about this, but I think it's simply awful (WTF, Russell? LONG HAIR?! Yuck). The cast is amazing and impressive other than the two leads. They're not even close in age, so I'm having a hard time seeing them as colleagues!

Right now, my only hope is to see Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren together. I can imagine their scenes to be really cool.

3:35pm: Old School Torchwood
So, a question for the first season Torchwood fans:

Do you remember, on the Tochwood website, there was a journal.
I believe the journal was in pictures, not in HTML text.

It was a journal that described a person within Torchwood that was put in stasis and woken up on occasion.

My (admittedly bad) memory has this person as Jack.

Am I dreaming this?
Does anyone have access to these originals?

I'm having a discussion with a new Torchwood fan that asked "If Jack is making Torchwood in the Doctor's honor, what was he doing in Torchwood before that?" and I thought that this document suggested that Jack was in stasis and woken up every once in a while. Thus, he could be associated with Torchwood and was in a position to help take over after the Battle of Canary Warf without being a party to the pre-Canary Warf Torchwood that was disliked by the Doctor.

6:29pm: It's like comparing apples to oranges.
It's NSFW, so be aware if you look at the series of photographs called "Lindsay Lohan as Marilyn Monroe", where Lindsay and the original photographer recreate the shots of Marilyn a few weeks before she died.

Marilyn Monroe was thirty six when the photographs were taken of her. She's gorgeous. Sexy. Her shape is amazing.

Lindsay Lohan is twenty one (turning twenty-two this year). She looks OLDER than Marilyn Monroe. She looks tired, fake. She lacks the same amazing curves that Marilyn has.

By trying to do a tribute to Marilyn, all that comes out is how unlike the two are: Marilyn is far more amazing and will continue to be, long after Ms. Lohan has faded away. Perhaps I'll be wrong, and Lindsay will rekindle her once-promising career, but right now it doesn't look promising.

(Oh, and hi! I am sort of here. My life has been work, knitting, spinning, and Pirates of the Burning Sea. I'm not as active in fandom as I used to be and I miss everyone lots. I have cleaned out my office, though, and I'm back two-boxing my desktop and laptop computers in my little study. Whee!)

9:46pm: The Top 50 Dystopian Movies
Snarkerati published a list of the top 50 dystopian movies back in the Fall of 2007.

I love dystopian films. There's something about this particular genre (is it a genre? It seems to be a theme that crosses film genres) that I find attractive. I've always been fascinated by the whole utopia/dystopia society concept. It's staggering how many of these fifty films I've seen.

( List behind the cut with commentary. )

Oh yes, Happy New Year everyone! I hope that your 2008 is a fun, fandom-filled, joyful one!

7:46pm: Help.
I've fallen madly for Alan Davies.

Jonathan Creek - OMG. I even got my sister into this show. I love it.

The Good Housekeeping Guide

Bob and Rose

HELP.

(My life is just a journey from one little obsession to another, isn't it? Sigh. Dangit, I need to get off my butt and MAKE ICONS. I've just been knitting up a storm, so I've had no time to do anything.)

(Oh, and I watched through Mrs. Bradley Mysteries and I thoroughly enjoyed predictable-but-wonderful Cranford.)

4:30pm: Let me introduce you to my new fangirl crush!
His name is Yahtzee.
He's a British-born, currently Australian-based writer.
With a sweet hat and a chip on his shoulder.

And he writes the best freaking game reviews in the world. (I can't wait for him to review Mass Effect, which I finished playing and enjoyed.)

( Cut for strong language. )

OMG, how excited am I about David Tennant being the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car on Top Gear?
I am going to squee squee squee all the way home!

Something I'm not squeeing about:
Russell Crowe committing to State of Play. I... sort of want Brad Pitt back, just for the Pitt/Norton yumminess. I just can't get excited over Crowe (although I think he does an adequate acting job with whatever he does).

10:50pm: The Sarah Jane Adventures, Season 1 - Episode 7
( Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?, Part One... cut for spoilers )

In a bit of unrelated news, I found a torrent for Nightmare Cafe and hopefully over the next week (not many seeders or peers) I'll be able to watch the show for the first time in over 15 years. I can't wait.

8:44am: Happiness is a warm gun...
Ten things that make me happy, tagged by nonelvis:

( Cut for the folks that don't care. )

3:13pm: OMG OBSESSION TIME
HALP!

I just fell in love with Pushing Daisies.
And I'm only 25 minutes into episode one.

HALP!

I love the narrator.
I love the main character.
I love the visual style.
I freaking love the writing.

HALP!

Because I seriously do not need more obsessions in this world. Seriously. I'm watching like 13 shows this season.

Even worse, I've got some serious jet lag. Going from the Philippines or London back to the US? No problem! Going from California time to New York time? UGH. I knew there was going to be trouble when we went from Arizona to New Mexico and the one hour difference seemed to put a dent in my sleep schedule. Now it's awful. I'm groggy when I should be alert. I'm alert in the wee hours of the night.

HALP!

Update:
Episode two.
AAAAAAAA!
One of the main characters freaking KNITS.
AAAAAAAA!
SWEATER VESTS!
HANDGUN COZY!
I can't freaking stand it.

HALP!

12:36am: No, it's not in your head!
From my friends list (himynameisjamie), I was sent to this AWESOME video. Drawings. NSFW. But so very very fun.

Share and enjoy!

11:05pm: And so it begins.
( Heroes Season Two Premiere, spoilers abound! )

Anyway, yeah, can't wait for next week, although I bet I will be watching it over the computer or something as I will be on vacation in Arizona. WOOT! Speaking of Arizona... if anyone has ANY recommendations as to where to eat or what to see in Arizona or New Mexico (we're flying into Tucson, going up to the Grand Canyon and then driving East to fly out of Santa Fe), I'd love to hear suggestions. Especially food places and other local stuff, away from too many tourists.

Oh... and today was also the premiere of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

( Just a few thoughts... spoilery for the Sarah Jane Adventures! )

Oh, and I've got something special for the friends of mine in my next post. Hee hee.

PS -- Like the icon? I rewatched Shortbus recently and JCM is just so handsome. There's something about him that reminds me of John Simm. Maybe?

2:29am: Bits and bobs.
Do you play games? Do you like movies?
I do!
Thus, I play the Hollywood Stock Exchange. It costs nothing to play and it's rather fun making predictions about movies. I'm user Iko there. Join up and let me know your user name and we can track each other! What's nice is that it's such a low-pressure game, you can play it four times a year and still make gains. I just recently checked mine and spent some time reinvesting my cash on hand (I had about 25 million). I made most of that on The Blair Witch Project, so I'm definitely keen on looking for the Next Big Thing.

Speaking of movies...
I loved State of Play. Simm was fantastic. Ditto Morrissey. (Plus, who could forget delicious Polly Walker?). But the news that Norton is teaming up with Pitt in the film adaptation of State of Play makes me all wobbly. Pitt is in the Simm role and Norton is in the Morrissey role.

OMG.

I hope it's good. At the very least, I hope it will give us a US release of the original on DVD. What's up with all of these things that I love love love getting redone?

Swinging the other way, something that isn't a remake:
Glory to the Filmmaker! was definitely WTFed in a number of reviews I've encountered. However, it looks like it could be a LOT of random fun. Yes? No?

So... the news:
1. I'm working on three fics at the moment. One Martha-centric. One Master/Lucy/Jack. One Master/Doctor. The Martha-fic is the one I'm concentrating on at the moment, since I need to post it in the very near future. I'm procrastinating, though, by making icons.
2. I'm working on a number of different icon sets. A few Pegg ones. A few Simm ones. MANY New Avengers ones. Dexter. And I want to make a banner for nesbitt_fans, to go with the Jekyll icons I've been working on. I have a long list. I'm procrastinating, though, by writing fic.
3. The first two tasks have been COMPLETELY overwhelmed by my focus on knitting. I finished my first sock for my Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 and it's sort of my own! Well, I took a pattern (Sockbug's Lacy Scallop Socks), kept the cuff and the general gist of the pattern, but changed the purl rows to knits. I then threw in Cat Bordhi's Cedar Architecture from New Pathways for Sock Knitters. Whee! It's lovely. I should post about it in my knitting journal but I'm procrastinating about getting that set up. *facepalms*
4. I've been playing Fable on my new XBox 360. It's fun. Mike has been playing it, much to my surprise. I've been playing it to avoid watching my Heroes DVDs. Thank goodness those are in HD and I don't have to think about iconing them!

I've been doing a bit of meme-ing lately. Mostly because the good quizes are interesting personality meters (although most are wildly inaccurate). I took the Empathizing Test and the Systemizing Test recently. My results were expected, but still made me go "wow":

Respondent	Average EQ	Average SQ	Brain Type
Males	39.0	61.2	Systemizing
Females	48.0	51.7	Empathizing
My Results	7	85	Extreme Systemizing

Yeah, no real surprise, but it is still pretty "dang"-worthy. Looking at the following distribution, I am in the zeroth percentile:

	Brain Types of Experimental Control Groups
Respondent	Extreme E	E	Balanced	S	Extreme S
Males	0%	17%	31%	46%	6%
Females	7%	47%	32%	14%	0%

Dang.

Strangely, when I took the Which Doctor Are You? Test, I scored the Fifth Doctor:
You scored 41% intelligence, 77% compassion, 5% sense of humor, and 0% weirdness!
How can I have zero weirdness and 77% compassion? ME? Not weird and compassionate? That's just... wrong.

4:24pm: Poison is queen!
ZOMG!

A producer has gotten screen rights to I, Claudius.

This news makes me giddy. Really giddy.
Let's hope that it turns out to be good and that some of the performers from the miniseries return in different roles.

3:23am: Bits and bobs
As predicted by many, the Moff has won the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for The Girl in the Fireplace. I am putting money down that he will win next year for "Blink". Oh how I love love love the Moff. The only two short-form dramatic presentations I can think of that would give "Blink" a bit of a run are Heroes' "Company Man" or "Five Years Gone". Unfortunately, both of those require some serious investment in the characters for their full impact.
(Now that the DVD for Heroes S1 are available, everyone should check it out!)

Two videos

For those out there who are:
1. Into Heroes slash
2. Thinks Heroes slash is silly
3. Into lots of pretty men making suggestive overtones at each other
4. Into the mocking of folks who enjoy lots of pretty men making suggestive overtones at each other
Then the Heroes slash video is for you!

Well, I thought it was hilarious.

And video number 2, for those of us who LOVE Alan Rickman:
In-Tango, Sharleen Spiteri and Alan Rickman music video
*sighs* He's soooo handsome.

And here comes the memes!

( First is the seven things meme. )

( I took the Nerd Test )

( Lastly, I took the 100 item meme. )

Ok, back to some knitting and, hopefully, sleep.

1:46am: LiveJournal auto-post
( Nonsense here. Beware. )

11:18pm: I Heart TV.
This fall, my television-watching schedule will be insane.

Seriously.

Look at what I'm interested in seeing, per evening.

Sunday
Viva Laughlin - On one hand, I think this makes me very sad because the original is so freaking good. With Tennant! And Morrissey! And Parish! On the other, I'm hoping that this gives more press to the original, which sometimes happens with American remakes. Plus, it's produced by Hugh Jackman, which gives me hope.

Monday
Heroes - Yesssssss. I'm still a fan of Paire. I know that makes me a very dirty girl.
Journeyman - I love Kevin McKidd. Add him into a procedural show with time travel and a Quantum Leap vibe? Woo! I just wish the ads for it were more compelling, because the ones I've seen aren't.

Tuesday
Bones - Loved last season, which was when I got into the show. I like how they toned down Deschanel's make-up from first season: it was too strong S1 for someone who is as socially awkward as she is presented. She's geeky, socially awkward, an atheist, and kicks butt. What is there not to like? (Plus, I love Angela and Hodgins. They are my sort of couple.)
Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit - I admit it. Law & Order is my constant drug. I watch all the shows religiously.

Wednesday
Pushing Daisies - I'm quite interested in this show. No idea if it will be good or bad but it is quirky enough to give it a shot.
Criminal Minds - I got exposed to this a few weeks ago, thanks to my sister. I love this procedural. Plus Thomas Gibson's intense emotional repression turns me on. She was convinced I would be all gaga for Dr. Reid, but I'm really into Hotch. I am sad to hear that Patinkin is gone, but hopefully it will continue to be interesting.
Bionic Woman - I rolled my eyes when I first heard about this show. But now I've discovered how HOT I think Michelle Ryan is (yay Jekyll!) and I heard that she's going to have one kick-ass fight with Katee Sackhoff. AWESOME.

Thursday
Nothing! ZOMG. Thank goodness. I can go to my knitting group without feeling I'm missing anything.

Friday
Numb3rs - Yeah. I still love this show. Looking forward to another exciting season!
Moonlight - I'd say that I'm a sucker (haha!) for good-vampire shows (Forever Knight, ftw!), but I wasn't a huge fan of Angel or Blood Ties. However, I think the lead is quite handsome and the commercials have been interesting! Horrid name, though. Reminds me too much of Moonlighting.

That's just American television on the major networks.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent has moved to USA. Not sure where Law & Order has gone, but definitely going to watch that too.

4:54pm: I am television's bitch.
Oh dear.

This week, I got tuned into Jekyll. It's brilliant. Icons are forthcoming.

This afternoon, I got tuned into State of Play. I've just seen the first episode and it's also brilliant (and I'm not just saying that because of the Simm/Glenister factor). I need to get it in a format that will allow me to make icons.

merrie987 just convinced me to watch Burn Notice and that's scheduled for tonight.

The scary part is... I don't feel TVed out. I've got the yarn for my latest project, nothing else going on, and I feel abso-freaking-fantastic.