So guess what? I'm going to catch you silly Americans up on the my favoritest show ever :)
So off we go.
WHOVIAN DICTIONARY TIME!
The Doctor- The awesome alien Time Lord dude who saves the Earth every single second, every minutes, every hour of everyday. The cool thing about the Doctor (And the main reason the show is still around and the longest running sci-fi in show in history) is that he can regenerate when he's about to die. Right now he's re-generated eleven times and is currently played be the adorable, bow tie wearing, geeky Matt Smith (small fangirl squeal). In short, he's 900 and something years old
Companion- The Doctor usually picks a couple awesome people who usually deserve a way out of normalacy along for the ride. Right now it's the supposedly happily maried Amy and Rory (Karen Gillian and Arthur Darill play them respectively) and they usually add some drama and humanitarianism to the show. There's only been a few episodes that the Dr. has traveled alone.
TARDIS- (stands for Time and Relative Dimensions In Space) is the magical time Machine the Dr. stole in his youth and has been traveling around Earth and other planets ever since. Sometimes it breaks, and it recently had a human body for a little bit in one of the more recent episodes.
Dalek- Daleks are the Dr.'s oldest enemy. They look like some kind of robot from Power Rangers, but their real bodies are on the inside. It looks like a jelly fish. Anyways, with annoying voices and unthinkable weirdness, they give the Dr. a headache (me too)
There's a bunch of other villians too (Cyberman, Weeping Angels, most recently The Silence) and a variety of other aliens and stuff.
Sonic Screwdriver- The coolest little tool ever. It doesn't actually look like a screwdriver, and it fixes a heck of a lot more. Comes in handy in a fix. I squeal everytime it does something epic in the Dr's hands.
Sometimes the Dr. goes back in time, sometimes the future, sometimes different plants, sometimes Earth, always very fun, always quirky, and better than most stuff in America.
Dr. Who is a big part of British culture like we American's really around..... Happy Days or Full House or wahtever.
Having a favorite Dr. is a hard thing to do. I constantly have arguments in my head about who's better: David Tennant, Matt Smith, or Tom Baker. (I still can't pick just one).
Anyway, I skipped over a lot of stuff (seven hundred episodes in a couple hundred words is pretty impossible).
So Whovians, feel free to add more :)
love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Waiting For Superman: Review and Thoughts
If you've been watching all the good movies of 2010, you've stumbled upon Waiting for Superman. It's a relevant documentary on our school system and why it needs change, taking you inside the lives of the families so caught up in the struggle of good education.
This is an important film. This will blow your mind.
Anyway, this movie goes into areas such as:
-The inefficient things needed to be completed to fire an incompetant teacher (I believe there are 24 complicated, often un-necessary steps)
- Some of the people who are stepping up to help reform education and get the ball rolling in the right direction (People who have started KIPP and the Canada schools).
- A handful of families and their journey to a better education for their kids, sometimes ending in heartbreak, which only brings the whole reality of the situation closer.
-The politics and unions who are causing some pain in the lives of the good teachers and how the horrible teachers stay in schools.
This movie in one word is bittersweet. About half of the movie is spent in the lives of the families who are in the "lottery" to get their kids out of the "drop-out factories" (the term for thousands of schools where less than half the classes will graduate). We find out who goes in the end and who stays. IT's very powerful and hugely gripping It's insane the fuss made over this. People are screaming for a better education for their children.
That's another thing. This movie is largely saying that we get away from what this is about: Preparing kids for the future. IT becomes about the adults as it leans more towards politics, more towards correctness, and inefficientness.
Being a middle-schooler and watching this was so odd. They're talking about my peers in public school.. It's weird. In some odd way, it hits close to home.
The title comes from one of the educators in the movie (it's very late here so some of it is slipping away but I believe his last name was Canada). He said one of the most heartbreaking moments of his life was when his mom told him that Superman wasn't going to be there to save the day. It works so well, 'cause I believe a lot of people really are waiting for some super hero to come in and get us out of our mess. It's relevant.
I've experianced the bad teachers of our system too. I had a third grade who used a microphone to yell at us, refused to teach sometimes, complained about how stupid we were, and couldn't teach when she did. I'm not legally allowed to mention her name, but it was bad. The prinicipa who had hired her had retired the previous year and the powers that be soon got the message that this person could not teach. Loud and clear. At least six kids requested a change of class or switched schools (I was transferred to a private school where we go to church) and soon, that angel prinicpal took steps necessary to get her out.
But the fact is, most of the time, requests like these are ignored, and kids educations are damaged forever.
So it's time to stop waiting for superman
Or the Doctor to come in with his sonic screwdriver.
Or.... well you get it.
Love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi
This is an important film. This will blow your mind.
Anyway, this movie goes into areas such as:
-The inefficient things needed to be completed to fire an incompetant teacher (I believe there are 24 complicated, often un-necessary steps)
- Some of the people who are stepping up to help reform education and get the ball rolling in the right direction (People who have started KIPP and the Canada schools).
- A handful of families and their journey to a better education for their kids, sometimes ending in heartbreak, which only brings the whole reality of the situation closer.
-The politics and unions who are causing some pain in the lives of the good teachers and how the horrible teachers stay in schools.
This movie in one word is bittersweet. About half of the movie is spent in the lives of the families who are in the "lottery" to get their kids out of the "drop-out factories" (the term for thousands of schools where less than half the classes will graduate). We find out who goes in the end and who stays. IT's very powerful and hugely gripping It's insane the fuss made over this. People are screaming for a better education for their children.
That's another thing. This movie is largely saying that we get away from what this is about: Preparing kids for the future. IT becomes about the adults as it leans more towards politics, more towards correctness, and inefficientness.
Being a middle-schooler and watching this was so odd. They're talking about my peers in public school.. It's weird. In some odd way, it hits close to home.
The title comes from one of the educators in the movie (it's very late here so some of it is slipping away but I believe his last name was Canada). He said one of the most heartbreaking moments of his life was when his mom told him that Superman wasn't going to be there to save the day. It works so well, 'cause I believe a lot of people really are waiting for some super hero to come in and get us out of our mess. It's relevant.
I've experianced the bad teachers of our system too. I had a third grade who used a microphone to yell at us, refused to teach sometimes, complained about how stupid we were, and couldn't teach when she did. I'm not legally allowed to mention her name, but it was bad. The prinicipa who had hired her had retired the previous year and the powers that be soon got the message that this person could not teach. Loud and clear. At least six kids requested a change of class or switched schools (I was transferred to a private school where we go to church) and soon, that angel prinicpal took steps necessary to get her out.
But the fact is, most of the time, requests like these are ignored, and kids educations are damaged forever.
So it's time to stop waiting for superman
Or the Doctor to come in with his sonic screwdriver.
Or.... well you get it.
Love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Dr. Who Season Six Premiere- Thoughts
French the Llama that was good!
Dr. Who is back with a bang this year. Here's a step by step evaluation!
Acting- All the actors, while still very good in season 5 have become so much better over the break. It's so much fun to watch them even when it's the saddest episodes I've ever seen (it's a two part thing instead of an hour season premiere).
Story- Does everybody remember how Inception confused you after you finished. You sat there on your couch with your popcorn and Diet Coke thinking "What did I just watch and how is this coherent?"
But it is in a weird way and it leaves a lot of stuff up for grabs. I also heard Nail Gaiman was on board with this season and that definitly makes a mark, coupled along with the genius mind-boggling writer Steven Moffat.
Scary Stuff- The Slience (lead baddies) are rivaling the Weeping Angels as the scariest aliens in Dr. Who history! Unlike the Angels though, it wasn't a non-stop scare fest with sharp jabs and electrifying shocks. The Silence pop up quickly, scare you a little bit and move on only to do the same thing again five minutes later. They're some of the scariest looking things I've ever seen, although mostly, they just stand around and do nothing (they do kill somebody once though). I do have a question though, why are they wearing suits? It's a bit confusing.
WILL THS PREMIERE GIVE YOU ANY CLOSURE?
NOOOOOO! OF COURSE NOT, THAT'S SILLY!
One thing that annoys me about viewing a new season as it comes out is that I don't have anyone to tell me what's up and how cool it is. I'm caught up with everybody else now and we're all on this weird rollercoaster that has lots of off angles and turns. It's quite exciting.
What were your thoughts on the premiere. Is the bowtie still as cool when it's purple? (Yes it is)
Love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi
Dr. Who is back with a bang this year. Here's a step by step evaluation!
Acting- All the actors, while still very good in season 5 have become so much better over the break. It's so much fun to watch them even when it's the saddest episodes I've ever seen (it's a two part thing instead of an hour season premiere).
Story- Does everybody remember how Inception confused you after you finished. You sat there on your couch with your popcorn and Diet Coke thinking "What did I just watch and how is this coherent?"
But it is in a weird way and it leaves a lot of stuff up for grabs. I also heard Nail Gaiman was on board with this season and that definitly makes a mark, coupled along with the genius mind-boggling writer Steven Moffat.
Scary Stuff- The Slience (lead baddies) are rivaling the Weeping Angels as the scariest aliens in Dr. Who history! Unlike the Angels though, it wasn't a non-stop scare fest with sharp jabs and electrifying shocks. The Silence pop up quickly, scare you a little bit and move on only to do the same thing again five minutes later. They're some of the scariest looking things I've ever seen, although mostly, they just stand around and do nothing (they do kill somebody once though). I do have a question though, why are they wearing suits? It's a bit confusing.
WILL THS PREMIERE GIVE YOU ANY CLOSURE?
NOOOOOO! OF COURSE NOT, THAT'S SILLY!
One thing that annoys me about viewing a new season as it comes out is that I don't have anyone to tell me what's up and how cool it is. I'm caught up with everybody else now and we're all on this weird rollercoaster that has lots of off angles and turns. It's quite exciting.
What were your thoughts on the premiere. Is the bowtie still as cool when it's purple? (Yes it is)
Love and sonic screwdrivers,
Randi
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