Randomizer Thoughts

The Best Doctor Ever?

For the 21st century, a definite yes~ though you're always remember your first with fond memories. Tom Baker, Doctor 4, brought me into the Doctor Who universe -- and I bet he made fans out of many of the people who now produce (and act) in the show. Still, after Eccleston brought the show back from its long dormancy, Tennant was simply brilliant (to use his own catch phrase). Russell T. Davies resurrected some of the best of the old monsters, a tradition that Steven Moffatt has continued ... though he's added his own twists to the DW mythos that some older fans take umbrage to. (Don't get Joy started on the River Song storyline ... I liked it, but she did not. Spoilers!)

So far, after 8 weeks of school, classes have settled into a routine (more or less). Although we teach more classes, most classes are smaller than last year ... unless you teach English III or IV, where the classes hit 30+. The 10th grade team offered to take up the slack -- even if it's only in one class -- but the powers-that-be declined to consider our offer. Ah, well, we tried. Speaking of which, I must remember to write out the lesson plan & copy it -- It's not a complicated plan (except for the cursed TEKS numbers), but it must be done ... People are counting coup this year; we suspect that the interim administrators need to justify their jobs.

However, I neglected to comment about our last 2 weekends at Four Winds Faire. If Joy took pix, I'll post them ... The Celtic Music Festival, alas, was sparsely attended -- and I suspect did not earn the performers' fees. Last year, we had less than 20 folks come; luckily, one was my friend Marcia who drove in from Flint. Where's Flint? You're asking little old me from DFW? All I can say is that it's a small town in East Texas off Highway 110. Tyler is the largest town near it ... Marcia came to visit both weekends; we talked dolls and enjoyed good music -- although I hadn't quite expected a South rock jam session at the end of CMF. That's all right -- it just shows the connection from Celtic music to folk to "Southern rock" to current country. Besides, all of us rocked right along with the performers.

The following weekend brought the first Wild West Steampunk Exhibition at Four Winds. The belly dancers became "Desi D. Mona and her slightly soiled doves;" the cavaliers became gunfighters and the sheriffs. (Yes, we had shootouts at the tavern -- I mean, the saloon. (Ye Olde Tavern has gotten a massive facelift, with a complete sound stage, raised performance area, and an upstairs. Right now it plays the role of a haunted house.) We had more people this weekend, including part of the Court (dressed as Edwardian ladies & gentlemen), although still more were needed. For Owl Moon Studios, they were rather successful weekends; we made some new contacts and some cash. Dustin says the WWSE will continue in 2012. Yeehaw!!

Scorching School Daze

Benedict & Beatrice, 2011

School started last Monday with little fanfare at SHS. We are still a construction zone -- no kitchen for the cafeteria, no auditorium, ripped-up walls. and few water fountains and restrooms ... What a beginning to a new school year! The old lady of brick and mortar is getting a facelift, but we're in the middle. In fact, the Thursday & Friday when I moved my classroom and organized it, there was no AC -- and it was 105* in the room! The room also had no ceiling; you looked upwards and saw the 86-yr-old joists and beams that support the roof. In the workroom opposite mine, we found windows looking onto nothing -- they had been sealed years before. The journalism teacher braved the heat to take photos; we joked that they were windows for the mysterious "fourth floor," a legend in the school ... SHS has its own urban legends of ghosts and goblins.

A hurricane on the East Coast and the heat in the Southwest -- I don't want to wish storms on the Gulf, but I wish we could get something besides heat and more heat.

David Tennant & Catherine Tate re-united in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. I hope there's a cast recording, since that's the only way I'll experience their Benedict & Beatrice sparring. I loved the movie version directed by Kenneth Branaugh and for the longer time thought that he and Emma Thompson's performances couldn't be topped ... Well, the current stage versions may prove me wrong. I worked costumes & front of house when the Dallas Theatre Center did the play in the 70s -- we costumed it as warriors returning from the Texas war of independence in 1835. (Remember the Alamo!) Google and check out the gallery; Tate's Beatrice wears overalls in the early scenes, and Tennant wears a Navy uniform. It's a fun play; for those of you who aren't familiar with the plot, think Romeo & Juliet in a comic universe: no matter how bad things seem to get, the universe works to unite the lovers, despite their avowed dislike for one another. "Our hands against our hearts," as Benedict says. It all works to the good.

Let's hope the same goes for the 2011-2 school year.

The Heat Is On

... and the rising sun will scorch us one more time. Thanks to the Doctor, we aren't falling into the sun itself -- but with the projected high at 106* (and no telling what the heat index will be), we'll feel like the poor Brits in a Doctor Who adventure.

I haven't updated this blog -- because we've moved from Lancaster to Southlake. Some people have no idea where either town is located, so here's a bit of perspective. Lancaster sits south of Dallas on I-20 between I-45 and I-35. When we moved there 30 years ago, it was a quiet town surrounded by country ... Now it's a town surrounded by truck stops on the north and chain businesses on the west. The largest employers are the Lancaster school district and Wal-Mart. Southlake grew up west of Grapevine when commuters decided to leave the urban sprawl behind and create their own upscale community. Highway 114 is the main road in or out, although I'm learning a series of back ways since there's a massive piece of road construction between my abode and my job.

The other reason I haven't written lately is connected with the ballet studio. See how good the Doctor looks in his suit? Believe me, some tailor worked hard to get the right fitting for the pants and coat. And that cape? Don't get me started! Since ballerinas show a lot more arm and leg than a Time Lord, their tutus need an even better fitting. One miscalculated seam, and you're in for a massive amount of pinning and sewing. That was a nightmare that eventually had a happy ending ... though I bet we'll do another round of precision tailoring before the August show. We won't have distance and stage lights to enhance the illusion.

14 days, and I'm back in school. My, how time flies! and I didn't have a TARDIS!

Dolly Delights

OOAK necklace by OMS

Jury duty today -- cut short by the admission that I now live in Tarrant County ... Still, I got to see the traditional movie explaining that it's our duty as Americans to vote and serve as jurors. Clarice Tinsley and Scott Sams narrated, which means that it was filmed years ago ... But since the courts don't worry about ratings, they can re-play the tape until it deteriorates. Now you can get on-line and fill out your questionnaire; however, I don't know whether you can disqualify yourself on-line or whether you still need to show up ... At any rate, I was out of there before 10 o'clock.

Check out the necklace in the picture -- Joy and I make doll jewelry as lovely (and sometimes just as expensive) as full-sized pieces for people. BJD parents love to bedeck the dolls, and they appreciate the time and effort needed to build jewelry to scale. While Joy works on bracelets and necklaces, I'm working on a "thank you" gift for PG, who sent us her warehouse extras -- over 50 dolls to mod and re-make into a new vision ... We plan to transgender several of the boys ... although with the girls' heads that she included, we might not have to do much ... After all, little girls don't have boobs! (But these boys are muscular enough to be teens, so we'll have to use lots of frills and furbeloes to disguise the shoulders ... ah, a challenge!!) Alas, I had to modify the human necklace -- it's been over a year since I worked on the right-angle Dutch spiral, and I have no idea how I ended the pattern, or whether I intended the spiral to end exactly as it has ... So, I'm adding two "sea moss" extensions to finish the necklace length. I hope PG likes it.

Almost 4 weeks of summer done, and the house is still in flux. 30 years of stuff to inspect and decide whether we can use the items, store the items, or just walk away because it's too old or too dirty to salvage ... And the weather has stayed so hot that we can't work in the house after 2 o'clock. The little AC units & fans can't combat the heat creeping into the house. We shall soldier on -- there are treasures hidden amongst the junk, probably in some long-forgotten "safe place."

This week I'm reading "The Final Chapter" by Russell T. Davies ... The end of the David Tennant era of Doctor Who grows by leaps and bounds, as he demonstrates how little bits of ideas eventually grow into a character or plot. Davies juggled 3 SF series -- and now he's working on the Showtime version of Torchwood. I like three of the male characters, plus Eve Myles, so I'll watch the show. Maybe Joy won't complain as much as she does whenever Matt Smith appears as the Doctor. After all, we're not quite as invested in the series as we were in DW. Still, I wish he could've discussed the 4 different women in the Doctor's life: Rose, Sarah Jane, Martha, and Donna ... But Ben Cook asked the questions, and I suspect that question didn't interest him. He raised some good ones about writer's voice and Davies' opinions about writing ... and both books are HUGE!! I didn't mind spending money on either one ... and the pictures aren't shabby, either. I recommend it along with the books by Strazinsky of Babylon 5. Maybe I'll check out books by Joss Whedon, too. He's had a few hits along the way.

Touched by an Alien

Doctor 10 & Donna Nobles

I've been gone over a week -- the right kidney decided that it was time to pass a stone. Obviously not drinking water this spring caught up with me ... You'd have thought I would've learned that lesson Summer 2010 since the same thing put me in the hospital. But no ... it seems that I, like my students, am a slow learner. Let's not make it three times! Since I knew what was happening, I didn't go to the doctor this time -- but, to add insult to injury, some nasty bronchial bug laid me low. For about 60 hours, I lay comatose in the bed while my body healed. I only got up long enough to watch "The Doctor's Wife" on Saturday night. Nail Gaiman wrote a wonderfully witty script with a good mix of chills and thrills. The interplay between the anthromorphized TARDIS ("Sexy") and her thief showed why this show tends to have writing that is head and shoulders above most American scripts. Favorite lines: "You're always bringing in strays!" (Now we know what the TARDIS thinks of the companions!) When the Doctor says, "You're unreliable. You never take me where I want to go," the TARDIS replies, "No, I take you where you need to go." It's a show to introduce a first-time viewer to the WHOniverse, but fans will enjoy the acting and story.





Gina Koch has her own version of aliens with two hearts (like the Doctor) in her ALIEN series. I picked up the most recent, Alien in the Family, which was the third book centered around a wedding ... there was so much comedy & conflict in the blurb on the back of the book that I was intrigued -- but I decided that I'd better put the 2011 novel down and locate the first in the series, Touched by an Alien.


Katherine "Kitty" Katt must have reconciled herself to the absurb name her parents gave her. She's an ordinary woman in heels ... who springs to the rescue when a man morphs into a winged monster and goes on a killing rampage. The clean-up crew in sunglasses and black Armani suits may look human -- though impressively on the GQ model side of human -- but they are really alien males from Alpha Centauri. Jeff Martini is their local squad leader, and he and Kitty hit it off immediately. Pheremones fly as she comes to grip with how hot the men are ... and how immensely dangerous the situation has become.


Good thing Kitty's an only child with few close friends, except for her conspiracy nut friend Chuck who is mentioned but never seen, and no pets ... The nastiest terrorist on the planet (no, it's not a real terrorist) has combined with the nastiest monster parasite in the known universe; both want to either kill or convert Kitty to the cause. She's not buying it ... besides, she wants to get her hands on Jeff's hot bod and discover the joys of alien sex.


Koch has a deft touch for comedy, and the sexual high jinks shouldn't turn off most readers. I checked her bio: yes, she's a member of RWA (Romance Writers of America), a bonus from a marketing point of view. Although I found the novel in the SF section, I would not be surprised if some intrepid soul moves it over to Romance. By the rules of romane writing, technically this novel is NOT a romance ... The defeat of the main villain happens after the couple resolve their differences; also, defeating the villain might be a hair more important than "the relationship." Both items break the rules of romance writing, which reverses the importance of those events. Still, the book was a fun read -- if a covert one at school -- and I bought the second in the series yesterday at Borders.


Check out Touched by an Alien for a fun summer read. See ya under the cabana ... and ignore the screams from the room next door. It's just Jeff teaching Kitty new ways to be touched by an alien.

TAKSing Times

The title is "Charm Is Not Magic" -- the copyright and image belong to the artist. However, it sums up what I had to do on Friday: persuade a bunch of recalcitrant freshmen that, (a) no, the testing week was NOT done and (b) yes, they WERE going to write a 2-page essay for a person who was not their teacher ... This on top of recovering from a nasty bout of flu that sent me home for a day and a half. Oy!!
Mom says I got the bronchitis/flu from hanging at Faire; shoot, if you'd been around my students the last 2 weeks, you'd been exposed to all sorts of germs ... and I may have picked up some nasty little snotrag without thinking (or washing or at least sanitizing). Who knows? But the germs laid me low ... still, I did get to see bits of the royal wedding as I got dressed for school. I forgot that Kate Middleton and I share a saint's day. (St. Catherine of Siena) No one can top the Brits for old-style pomp and circumstance, though the event generally went unnoticed by my freshmen ... who will be "my" sophomores in about 4 months if I'm still teaching English II.
You guessed it -- I went back to SHS when I could've stayed home because I needed those sample compositions to be done right. The JROTC gentleman was great as a hall monitor and general muscle -- and it turned out he and I knew the same officers in DISD, courtesy of my 25+ years at FDRHS -- but I would not want him to teach the basic comp methods we use for English II and III. That I can do in my sleep -- or half-sick. My challenge was trying not to cough out a lung while keeping order ... I managed. Still, I was glad that they switched from a C-day (which meant I'd meet with 3 classes with 40 minutes off) to B-day (which meant I got time off and met only 1 class). Most sophomores were more interested in finding out whether they could legally moved out of their parents' home at age 17 ... The law is fuzzy: you can if you can support yourself ... but how to prove residency if you're living with a friend so you can enroll in school.
More proof that SHS is a better "fit" than my old school ... Three of the 27 freshmen are anime fans; one says I'm his favorite teacher for 2 reasons: manga and anime. They want to attend A-Kon in June. (See me there!) Also, one girl was raving over the 3-day Doctor Who last week. She confessed that Doctor 10 (David Tennant) was "her" Doctor and nearly swooned when I told her that I had met Tom Baker. (Doctor 4 was her second favorite.) We also had a bizarre discussion about the difference between rock and metal ... which at first I took literally before I realized it was music -- and impressed 1 kid because I do know what "corridos" are. (They're ballads dedicated to the deeds of the Mexican drug cartels.) So, I'm on my way to establishing that I know waaay too much trivia -- which isn't a bad position for a teacher in an urban setting. I'm just glad that a few of us SF geeks are around -- and there are several teachers who are going to A-Kon and watch the Doctor (not to mention Star Trek as well -- last year's discussion of "who's your captain" still amuses me).
Next week, we get back into Shakespeare's Julius Caesar -- we may even see a bit of film and video as we finish the play ... and analyze early modern English. (Woo-hoo! Does this encompass a 3rd language for some of these kids?)
Truly, it takes charm AND magic to persuade the little darlings that reading 400-year-old literature will not hurt their brains ... and backstabbing politics has been around much longer than any of us have been alive.

Remembrances of Things Past

Loki & Ameya

This image is copyright Bettina Kurkowski from the OEL manga My Cat Loki, published by Tokyopop ... Check out her artwork on DeviantArt; she's currently drawing the Seekers manga based on the booked by Erin Hunter. I enjoyed the relationship between the foundling Loki and Ameya who brings in the kitten who reminds him of the cat he had when he was a boy ... Alas, the series was never finished.

2011 has brought many changes -- This winter brought more snow days than I've ever seen in over 30 years of teaching ... SHS will lose some teachers, and the building is being remodeled. I like the old-fashioned doors in the old building, but they're lousy for security, so out they go. Maybe someone can pick up some antique school doors and do something creative with them ... Stained glass panels would be lovely, but I have no talent in that direction. My ballet teacher's older son is getting married this weekend before he deploys overseas ... My niece graduates then moves to Alabama for college ... Then we will have the big move later this year from south to north and from Dallas to Tarrant County. That's what I'm doing in place of summer school -- SHS will close for the summer because (a) they're remodeling the cafeteria & replacing doors and (b) they're removing asbestos. (I wonder where it's been hiding all these years.) Even the administration has to move out until August. Oh, and Elizabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith on Doctor Who and Sarah Jane Adventures, passed away ... she always had such a sense of wonder that sucked the viewer into whatever adventure she experienced.

On Sunday evening, Four Winds Faire ends its 2011 run ... and we bid farewell to friends until we meet again (hopefully) in 2012. We can't take the reunion for granted: some folks will move on to other faires or won't be able to commit to an 8-week stay; some folks are simply not with us any longer ... This year, we've had more than our share of scares with injuries and illnesses, and none of us have discovered Ponce de Leon's fountain.

We bid farewell to the 4 "middles" who were fostered then adopted out by Catmatchers ... and to 3 of the 4 "littles" who were birthed on Feb. 4 (the last snow day). We still need to determine what we can do for 3 of the 4 "big uns" when we move ... and my mom will take Lola, the rat terrier, into her home ...

I hear a David Bowie song in the back of my head ...

High Drama, Low Cost

I borrowed this image -- copyright goes to the artist on DeviantArt -- because it made me laugh. I seriously need laughs this weekend since it's right before the ELA TAKS ... and the scores on that test will impact my evaluation AKA "Classroom Effectiveness Indices," which is number-crunching to "prove" how good I am in the classroom as an education ... After the TAKS tutoring at Saturday school, I don't know whether to be very worried or merely concerned. These 10th graders are very blase about the whole test-taking stakes, and their scores will rate our school for the next 2 years while Texas brings out a whole new (much harder) test. The schools are losing money, and TEA is developing a new test to "prove" how badly the districts are educating their "stakeholders," AKA students.

Four Winds Faire opens next weekend, followed by another week of school before we're out for spring break. We have kittens to distribute, older cats to find fosterage, and tons more tasks to fill several weeks -- and Faire!!! We get to see the Fairemily once more and catch up on the changes, major and minor, that occured during the last 12 months. I only hope the weather stays good for most of the run ... A repeat of this month's killer cold would be awful, though we have had snow on occasion. We shall see.

Happy Boxing Day

(pictured -- A Victorian gang)

Boxing Day may be a British tradition, but it sounds better than "Leftover Day," which for many folks it is. We did the family thing in Rowlett and Southlake, including one ham dinner and one turkey supper. Joy prefers the turkey, but I'm neutral since I don't have to cook anything. I got to talk with Steph and Hunter who have both gone back to school ... Lucky dogs, except they have to work at the same time.

Yesterday also was a Doctor Who night. BBC America, which cuts the show terribly, made arrangements to show the Christmas show on Christmas night. (Imagine that!!) The commercials of the Doctor and Amy in America, complete with a Stetson hat, were rather humorous. Even River Song, villainess and heroine rolled into one, sent Christmas greetings. If I'd wanted, I could have watched various Doctors (in the rebooted seasons) celebrate the season. The "Tooth and Claw" episode ended with a joke of a royal family werewolf; however, it reminded me that Torchwood began in Victoria's reign -- which gives rise to a steampunk companion. Mid-1800s seem to be a favorite time period -- close enough that people recall some details yet far enough away that the writer can work in his own details. Hard to believe sometimes that Jane Austen now is 2 centuries old ... though if you look at the costumes, it's a reminder of how much male fashions changed with the industrial revolution. The gang above would be mocked for the plaid pants and stovetop hats, but once they removed the accessories, the men could pass ... not so, for the fashion plate ladies with their hoop skirts (though the corsets are back for some fashionable ladies).

We decided to give Ikkicon in Austin a miss in 2011 -- Skittles has become a geriatric kitty with special needs, and there are 6 Christmas kittens in the cat carrier ... We could be gone overnight, as long as I come back on Sunday morning to check on everyone; however, the 36 hour absence might not be a good choice ... right now, Skittles is lying atop the computer monitor -- the day is so cold that the wintry sun isn't putting out much heat. Let me settle on the sofa, and he'll become a lap kitty for the duration.

Cats & Dragons

This week had its share of ups and downs ... This computer went down, thanks to an old power supply, and I had to drive up to East Dallas to get it fixed. Why East Dallas? My ballet teacher recommended a computer repair shop -- they have many, many rebuilt computers, computer parts, peripherals ... and they can repair most computers for a reasonable price. True, it cost gas money; however, the computer was in and out of the shop in less than 1 day ... and it seems to run better than before. Joy went down with a cough and cold (or allergies); the outside temp went down on Friday and continued down today. Fall is back!

This morning marked BBC America's Doctor Who marathon for Matt Smith's 11th Doctor ... but they started with "End of Time," which leads to his regeneration scene. Yes, David Tennant is THE Doctor for the 21st century in the way that Tom Baker was THE Doctor during the 80s. David is a better actor than Tom, who is a great performer but not always the best ensemble actor. Unlike Matt Smith, David could make you believe that there was a 900-year-old soul in the body that looked like it was barely over 30. Joy bought the Tonner "Doctor 10" doll -- pictures of THAT in another entry -- and he materialized courtesy of the US Mail last week ... I wouldn't watch that episode over and over, since it does end with David's departure, and it still brings me to tears as the Doctor meets his own mortality ... for the sake of one ordinary old man. His reward? To use his final moments to make certain that his companions are safe and secure ... but he regenerates alone and in pain.

Fiona the Flea, our tortie cat, is nestled in my lap while I write. Every so often a little paw reaches up to tap my hand ... obviously I am not using my hands properly since one in not petting her. More on her -- and her sibs -- later.

I'm still writing on the novel ... I don't like parts of it because there is just way too little action and too many "talking head" dialogue scenes ... but I'm almost at 12, ooo words (I'm behind on the word count by almost 8000.) Still, we're still working on it -- despite a side trip to the computer shop and a visit to Mar's house ... where I wrote while we watched How to Train Your Dragon. We had a minute doll moment ... next week, it's writing and crafts and more videos. To many fans it's rather dull -- but, outside of gas money, it's a chance to do something fannish without spending too much $$$.

Oh, and it's fall house cleaning time ... the cats are bouncing off the walls, which causes books and boxes to tumble. Still, their shenanigans unearthed Joy's Japanese haoris ... and I managed to discover where my new leotard had gone.

Dance quote: "Life's a dance you learn as you go/ Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow ..."

We're All Mad Here ...

... at least in Dallas ISD. Everyone wants to make the grade in 2011 since a new school reporting system begins. Whatever ranking a school makes in 2011 will continue for 2 years, so the heat is on. I am drowing in paper since I have over 150 students ... Then Time magazine publishes a study on American public schools that says that the average pupil to teacher ratio is 16:1. That's not in any inner city school where I've taught ... Of course, lower class sizes in certain nameless magnet schools might skew the figures; however, I'm still not sure ... unless we count those tiny classes in rural public schools. But it's a numbers game, and I will have to read the article in small bits, or I shall write a nasty letter ... especially since they're touting this charter school/ "choice" movie as a viable alternative for kids & their families. The big pictures that grab your eyes say one thing; the article implies something else ... and they leave out the fact that some charter schools take public money -- and the kids' money -- then close up shop and disappear, leaving the kids worse off than if they had remained in public school all along. Besides, charter schools don't have to take everyone in their attendance zone -- nor do magnet schools -- places like Roosevelt & Sunset must make graduates out of the street kids who walk through the doors.

Enough about school. Last night, I had a one-woman Doctor Who festival. I went onto the BBC web site, but most of the videos of the "Doctor Who Proms" are not available through the official feed ... Not to fear -- that's what YouTube is for. The theater was packed with fans of all ages to listen to the classical music and scores of the show ... there were video screens to show the scenes that accompanied the music -- and an appearance by the Doctor himself. The fans in the theater were much more welcoming than the adults I know ... this was a "panto" moment for the Doctor -- I don't think that the Star Trek actors would've played along in quite the same way. Ah, well, the Doctor IS an institution in the UK, no matter which incarnation he may be. To give him his props, Matt Smith realized that the moment Stephen Moffat selected him to play the Gallefreyan renegade ... check out his early interviews where he admits that the worst past was listening to his flatmate speculate on who would replace David Tennant after he had been cast.

Yes, I jammed to the 8 minute mix of Who's opening theme from 1963-2010, as well as checked out the logo identification chart. The diamond logo is still the best, in my opinion. Simple yet complex, it says it all ... but each producer must put his mark on the show, especially the fan boys who get a shot at producing their favorite show -- Russell T. Davies and Stephen Moffat. Fantastic fun for them to open the Pandora's box of monsters and take them in a whole new direction -- the whirling Christmas trees of death!!

Hello Otaku!

Corey C. Cat & Owlfie

Animefest is 4 days of fun for anime fans -- AKA otaku -- with lots of activities and videos to support the collecting habit. We're selling to jewelry folks -- and doll folks -- who collect something besides the videos and garage kits and -- well, if you've ever seen all the stuff connected with any American series, such as Star Wars, then you've seen a sample of things the Japanese produce for their fan base. We've seen Jack Skellington and Transformers as well as goth zombies and steampunk vampire hunters ... as dealers, we tend to do "costume light" because no one can really see below your waist until you leave for the restroom -- also, the AC was cranked way too high for anything less than a short sleeved tunic and leggings, and I froze during most of the afternoon. But I showed off the niece's bodice jewelry, which was worth the goose bumps.

The newest plushie additions to our household are Owlfie, Joy's owl in his Woody costume, and Corey C. Cat in his limited edition duds. (BTW, we saw a Jessie from Toy Story 2 yesterday.) Believe it or not, 2010 marks 50 years of "Hello Kitty," and Build-a-Bear Workshop has many of the licensed characters available for stuffing ... Kitty and her sister don't appeal to me, but little Chococat does -- and sometime I'll put a gold moon on his forehead and a Sailor Scout uniform on him in fond memory of Luna from Sailor Moon. I guess that means Kitty would have to crossdress as Artemis, the male cat on the show ... Hmmmm ... No, I do not need another stuffed kitty around the house!! When we got Corey Cat, the workshop was humming with little girls and their parents -- and I didn't care (much) that I was the only adult who was buying a plushie for herself. The girl at the stuffing machine was studying to be an English teacher (poor girl -- she wants to teach seniors! I said gently that you might have to work your way up to that grade level). The folks at the counter were most friendly ... I suspect that, like dealers at conventions, they have to take deep breaths and paste those smiles on their faces some days.

To tell the truth, working a convention isn't really a bad way to spend a weekend; however, it seems more stressful in some ways than being a merchant at a Ren Faire. Perhaps it's the constant high level of energy in the fans -- a convention has a party atmosphere that many faires don't have ... too many teens and twenty-somethings crammed into a hotel with too little adult supervision, and many looking to get drunk and get laid, and all looking to PARTY to the max. Faires close down around 7 (dark in the spring), and the merchants are left to their own devices. Some get into the party-mode, but just as many want to chill out and rest up ... I confess that Joy and I often fit the latter mode. Shoot, we're dealers at the big anime cons, and we seldom make it to any events! I think Joy made the record this weekend because she went to the BJD panels to check out what was happening in the DFW area.

On a different note -- we met some members of "Cosplay Gallifrey" who --as you've guessed -- are Doctor Who fans. The ones we met are in their 20s -- I wonder if they have any of the original Gallifrey Connection members in the troup, or if they are all as young as the trio I met on Saturday ... I don't think I saw any of them on Sunday, so maybe it was just a 1-day thing for them. I'm afraid I don't have the energy (or interest) to pursue the cosplay far, since they're into memorizing their favorite speeches -- and the leader showed little interest in Sarah Jane. Ironic, since she's the only companion to ever score her own series! (And is my age, so I could cosplay her with ease ...)

And I've been so baaaad -- no grading until tonight!

Dance quote: When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way. Wayne Dyer

The Evils of PC Gaming & Other Addictions

Doctor Hoo & Dalek Wormy

Last night I spent waaaay too much time solving the endgame for "Jewel Quest: Heritage." It's a match-3 game attached to a story line. Joy and I have worked our ways through the other quests in the series. Sunday, Kim persuaded me to play the Hidden Object game on her Nintendo. I'm not a big fan of HO games, but this one worked for me ... especially when I recognized the villain Sebastien and the hero Rupert. It did hurt that this quest was set in Valley of the Kings in Egypt. I'm sure there are Doctor Who-inspired games, but those are tough to get in the good old US of A unless you have the techie hook-ups with friends overseas. If you're curious, check out the official BBC web site -- unfortunately some of the best video bits are not available in Texas. SIGH!!

The heat wave finally broke last night ... and the kids complained all day that it was cold -- on the first day of school, the high was 107. We were warm, but relatively comfortable. So, they get no sympathy from me. If you're cold, bring a sweater -- the alternative of no AC is unthinkable. Monday if you stepped outside about 4 o'clock, you felt as if you were melting into a puddle of pink goo. Summer isn't over -- on my birthday, the temp is supposed to top out about 98 degrees; still, that's not as bad as 107. (Or the dreaded 110 -- in 1980, we had 30+ days when the high temp hit 100 or more.)

If you haven't read Andy Runton's comic Owly, give it a try. It's nonverbal, for the most part, but the plot and theme are clear. Owly helps his friends with their problems -- and they help him with his. It's touching without being cloying or over-the-top. Kids as well as adults can get into the stories ... and I enjoy Andy's gallery of Owly costumed as various media characters. The "Wolver-owly" is hysterically funny. http://www.andyrunton.com/ will introduce you to the world of this "bird of play" and his friends. He's even animated now! The illustration at the top of the blog is borrowed from Andy's site as an homage to both Owly and the Doctor.

Dance Quote: "To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love." -- Jane Austen

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Doctors 2 & 3

The final weekend before the kids returned included various movies and lots of food ... I think a diet is in order ... However, we enjoyed most of what we saw. First on the agenda was Wallace & Grommit, "A Matter of Loaf & Death," with a murderous "cereal" killer who's eliminating bakers one by one ... and Wallace is next on the hit list. Then, we indulged in some old school Doctor Who with "The Three Doctors," the first -- and arguably the best -- of the "reunion" shows. The interplay of the three Doctors highlighted the very different ways they approached a problem -- and lead to the final solution. The Time Lords even make a cameo appearance, although this group is nowhere near as colorful as they become later ... Maybe the working Time Lords can't afford the robes with big colors & silly headcaps. Even Pertwee's idiosyncracies work in this episode -- and no eye crossing when his Venusian aikido doesn't work and he's down for the count. Each Doctor has his own style -- and these three set the bar high.

Later, the girls watched the first season of Supernatural, AKA the Winchester boys chronicles. The first season isn't as dark & convoluted as later seasons -- I've totally lost track by now, including remembering the boys' names. Joy follows it still ... which reminds me that we need to clean house & upgrade the satellite receiver before the new season starts. While they watched invasions of bugs on cursed Indian land (it looked like no real estate development I've ever seen in Oklahoma.), I created a pair of purple seed bead earrings, a OOAK pair for the theater teacher at SHS. Luckily I found two other pairs in the colors she wanted; I haven't beaded in a long time, and I forgot how long creating & making a pattern can be ,,, but they turned out all right -- except for 1 little missing white bead. If she misses the spirit bead, I'll make her a new earring; otherwise, I get to make a pair for myself. They're perfect for Spirit Fridays when we wear school colors ...

Time to prepare to meet the kids on the first day of school ... and I'm still tired & achy from moving so much stuff last week, Carpe diem!

Dance quote: How can we know the dancer from the dance? ~William Butler Yeats

If the Spirits Move You

Sande's Faith in a necklace set by Joy

Saturday we gathered together to celebrate Joy's birthday in Carrollton; Mar took Karen and us to "Tasty Greek," a small restaurant located on Belt Line Road. Mar had described it as a "hole in the wall" ... It was quite small, yes, but the food was great -- the owner/manager wears several hats. He was our waiter and cashier, although I don't know whether he also worked in the kitchen ... Karen and I enjoyed the Patichio, ground beef with pasta under a bechamel sauce, while Joy & Mar fig into huge gyro plates ... even our picky eater had to agree that "Tasty Greek" lived up to its name and deserved a "Best in" award for good food. Then, Mar took us to an evil place -- evil, I tell you, because her liquor store had adopted the practice of allowing customers to taste test the specials of the whom am I to turn down free liquor?

Spirits were willing, the flesh was weak, and we spent an enjoyable time wandering up and down the aisles. We spent a bit of time with the pre-mixed liquors -- and returned with Kahlua B-52s ... Joy found some chocolate wine when an owl on the bottle ... Karen got rum (no surprise there -- she and Captain Morgan are old acquaintances.) ... Mar got cherry lemonade with vodka ... the terrible temptation, which I confess we did little to avoid, came from the discovery that we could get 15% off the total purchase if we bought 15 bottles. They had tiny "airline" bottles of liquor -- perfect for stocking stuffers -- which made our final selections quite simple.

After we emptied the bottles, we could use them as props for the dolls ... our poor innocent resin children, introduced to the "demon rum." Well, MY girl Colette is generally innocent, but I'm not too sure about Mar's larger male dolls -- and Joy's Yancy drowned his sorrows over his love life down at the hotel bar last weekend.

Back at Mar's house, we watched live action Sci-Fi anime -- if you'll excuse the very mixed-up metaphor ... Doctor Who remains one of my all-time favorite series, although my "main men" remained Tom Baker and David Tennant. As they say, you never forget your first; in Houston I stayed up after midnight to watch the Doctor. The first shows were "Mask of Mandragora" with Sarah Jane ... then I missed the 4th show that finished the episode and returned to "Face of Evil." When I moved back to Dallas in 1980, no station showed the series ... I had to wait until I went to O-Kon to see my first complete adventure: Underworld. Donna Fraser and Joy told me it was not worthy -- they were right. Until the "reboot" in 2005, the BBC was famed for horribly bad special effects. Cheezy, some said, and rightly so. I did take one good line from "Underworld:" The quest is the quest ... and the line has stuck since we still collect objects, and the quest for costumes, dolls, and books continues unabated.

Tom Baker, AKA the 4th Doctor, is an amusing performer; he can declaim lines -- usually with a straight face -- that would shame lesser actors; however, even he would have to admit that David Tennant is the superior actor ... After all, Tom played the bear in Shakespeare's play while David was the great Dane himself.

We went back to the 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston, to watch the events that led to his regeneration into Tennant ... and the death and rebirth of Captain Jack Harkness (later of Torchwood). As you watch the eps, you can see the huge crush -- romance? -- that will keep the Doctor and Rose together across time and space. Personally, I think Rose might have stalker tendencies; when she strides into Donna Noble's universe to battle the Daleks, you can tell she's a girl on a mission ... and it's not just to exterminate a danger to humanity. Sarah Jane Smith dealt with Doctor-separation a bit more gracefully; still she was older, if only by a few years, when she traveled with the Doctor -- and got left behind when he was called back to Gallifrey. But she never got married ... and didn't officially have a family until after she made peace with her past life as the Doctor's companion ... I wonder how she and Jo Grant (Katy Manning) will react to the current Doctor. Matt Smith is young enough to be their grandson (or at least their son). The meeting won't have quite the same dynamics of having the current missus meeting the ex (to paraphrase Micky) since Doctor 11's companion Amy Ponds married her childhood sweetheart Rory ... Now there's a shift in the group dynamics in the TARDIS since the Doctor seldom has two companions -- and never a married couple until 2010.

Amy Ponds (at her wedding) -- "Something old, something new, something borrowed ... and something very blue!" (Deep thrumming of materialization)