Lost in Trafalgar Square

Magnet #1315 - Trafalgar Square, London

I just got myself lost in Trafalgar Square tonight.

Ya'll, I can't count how many times I've been in Trafalgar Square. But, it seriously just took me 20 minutes of googling images and layouts trying to orient myself to this vintage image.

Not even joking.

I finally figured out that the vantage point is actually as if you were standing with the National Gallery to your right, as if you were on top of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

Here's why this is even more ridiculous.

The very first time I walked into Trafalgar, it was to find the National Gallery. And I walked around for a good 10 minutes before I found it. You should have seen how much I laughed my ass off when I finally walked up the stairs of the giant building right in front of me.

For context, it's akin to walking around the National Mall in DC, and not being able to find the Capitol Building. Or walking around in Times Square, and not being able to find the Coke sign.

See? Ridiculous.

Anyway, picked this magnet for today, because we sat through a couple of tapings of Would You Rather? with Graham Norton for BBC-America's Ministry of Laughs comedy block. Much as I love Graham, highly doubtful I'll actually watch the show when it airs, just not my cuppa.

But, ya'll know how I adore tapings and behind the scenes anything, so it was a fun way to spend a few hours.

The sound of [The] Silence

Magnet #1156 - Doctor Who Series 6

Happy Whoday, ya'll!

What? Need I say more?

9pm tonight. BBC-America.

Go. Watch. It.

3 Octopuses & An Otter World Tour - #makeithappen

Magnet #999 - Fezzes are cool

(I promise. This is the last Doctor Who magnet, at least until the Christmas Special.)

Here's the thing. I love the BBC. I even love BBC-America (even though I haven't a clue what's going on with their programing right now).

And lord knows, I love me some Doctor Who.

But, I've been puzzled over why the big U.S. push. Why now? Why not when David Tennant was being hailed one of Britain's national treasures?

There's a part of me that thinks that the BBC underestimated the American Doctor Who audiences until they brought David Tennant and John Barrowman together at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. And by then, it was too late to do anything more with DT.

I figure, post-SDCC, they all got together in a big room and said, dudes, there's a new team in place, we have a little money in the budget because we have new talent, so let's go raise that U.S. awareness even more, shall we?

Which is how we ended up with a huge push for Series 5 with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan - I'm talking actual advertising dollars, including outdoor advertising all over the place (at least here in NYC), they closed the gap between UK/U.S. airings, and they did a whole PA tour around the U.S.

The only gap in this media blitz plan is why the lull at both SD/NY Comic-Cons this year. Would have thought they'd have made it over, or fielded a panel or two. Perhaps they were saving up for the big U.S. shoot, just around the release of the DVDs?

Brilliant plan, I suppose. Because the shoot and the DVDs give young Matt Smith something to talk about - in his big profile piece in USA Today, his podcast with (the suddenly oh so cute, when the hell did that happen?) @nerdist, and now a whole Doctor Who-themed Craig Ferguson show today.

I wish I had the link for the whole show, but it just aired like an hour ago, so I don't have it, but I'm sure someone will upload it asap. It was freakin' awesome. From Craig's (real or fake, who knows) outrage at not getting Doctor Who themesong legal clearances, to the sonics to the male/female Dalek, to Chris Hardwick's audition for Twelve, to Matt Smith's stay at the Playboy penthouse and meeting a girl in Vegas, and his incredibly cute socks, and his secret ability to play the harmonica for the Three Octopuses & An Otter band. Great episode.

Truth be told, I'm well aware that it just seems like we're getting bombarded here, but it's totally nothing like the ubiquitous PR blitz on the cover of every magazine, every talk show, reality show, quiz show in the UK.

Not that I'm not complaining, folks. Really, it's more like professional awe for all the hits that the PR team's managed to get for the show and for Matt Smith. Way to go, BBC kids! (I kinda just mourn for all the might have been's with my boy David Tennant, had he had the same sort of media support. Sigh. What? Ya'll know, David's my Doctor.)

Anyway. Yes. I'm spending way too much time on Cafepress. Why do you ask?

Besides, fezzes are cool.

eta:
Heh. I just realized, it prolly should be octopi. Still. Cute. And I would totally go see them, if it meant Craig, Matt and Chris on stage together dancing.

eta2:
And so, my friends, behold, the lovely Matt Smith/Craig Ferguson interview.

Over the rainbow

Magnet #786 - No Place Like Home

As I was shopping for wrapping paper (I ask again, why, oh why, can't gift-wrapping be my job?), I found this perfect magnet for what's bound to be my next mini-obsession, Over the Rainbow.

Ya'll know that I hate reality television. Like a lot. I have too much scripted television on my regular schedule to get involved with reality. But every so often, there's a show the happens to catch my full and rapt attention.

Last year I got sucked into the Andrew Lloyd Webber's other two reality performance shows - BBC's Any Dream Will Do and How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? where ALW allowed the British public to cast Joseph from Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Maria from Sound of Music for his West End productions.

I don't know who was the sillier - BBC-A for airing the competition almost a year after they aired in the UK, for shows that never made it back over to Broadway (darn it) or me for sitting through the edited US versions of them, knowing that Lee and Connie won. The answer's probably both, I'm sure.

BBC-A didn't even bother to air the Oliver! series here, and I didn't both to look it up. Mainly because, hello, it's Oliver...the boy's too young, and I didn't really know the songs, and I didn't really care because, hello, it's Oliver!

But, now, this weekend, I've powered through the first four episodes of Over the Rainbow, where Andrew's trying to cast the role of Dorothy in the new production of Wizard of Oz. I dunno what it is about these series, but I love watching.

While I'll miss Barrowman and Denise Van Outen, there's a new panel in place: John Partridge - who I don't really know from Adam, but he's pretty. And really, why is Charlotte Church still 12 years old in my head?

I'm agreeing with the panel so far - for whatever reason, this crop of girls seem to be so good! Before, I could see most of their little flaws and let's face it, their craziness, but this time around all the girls are terrific...and with just a hint of the crazy that will likely come into play down the line.

And no, BBC-A's not airing them - I'm full on watching by alternative methods. From what I can tell, I'm still two episodes behind. I know this because I totally spoiled myself by visiting @bbcdorothy's Twitter page.

I won't be able to follow @bbcdorothy til I catch up. But I have to say, it's marvelous not knowing who is going to win, week after week, not knowing the ending of the show before it's begun.

As for voting, I have my favorites, but I can't vote from here - and I gotta be honest, I've never even dialed for American Idol or Dancing with the Stars here, so I likely wouldn't have voted anyway.

So, goooo UK, vote for the one I want to win!

Regeneration

Magnet #785 - Rana

Ya'll, I have found a new magnet series to start collecting. How gorgeous is this frog? Love it.

I picked up this magnet last month in the new Tampa Museum of Art, and what I should have done was pick them all up, to add to my collection! I already have the beautiful bull that my friend picked up for me in Barcelona.

But, what I didn't know back then, I know now - they're from a design firm based in Barcelona, called Barcino. They have so many gorgeous designs, I can't wait to discover more around town.

And, what I thought about the bull last year was correct! According to the Barcino folks, these magnets were created in the Spanish mosaic practice called "trencadis" that Antonio Gaudi made so popular on his buildings. They're hand-painted, which makes them all unique.

But, we all know the reason I picked the frog for today. Wait. Don't we?

It's because after a full-day BBC-A marathon of David Tennant Doctor Who episodes, the US will be broadcasting the first Matt Smith episode, "The Eleventh Hour," tonight. Likely, if I get back from shopping in time, I'll have seen the third one airing in the UK, all before the first airs here. So bizarre. And kinda wrong.

Anyway, so did ya'll know the frog - and apparently several cold-blooded animals - can regenerate limbs when it's young, and can even "die" and come back? No, really. I mean, I kinda knew, but I just sat through this video with one eye shut, in case something gross happened. There were no brilliant flashes of light, but the frog just hopped to, after being dead. Which is just kinda icky.

But, it's neat how the Doctor can do much of the same. I had no idea that Time Lords are frogs. Still, I suppose there's something to be said for the genius of Doctor Who - being able to span the years since the day after Kennedy was shot in 1963 to now, with almost a dozen men playing one character, and goodness knows how many people playing the Doctor's faithful companion.

As I was watching tonight's episode a couple of weeks ago, it amazed me to think that the BBC can just throw in a new guy and a new chick, and have an entire audience not only buy into the concept of same character different guy, but to enjoy the regenerations and the new takes on the Doctor.

Amazing.

Kinda like that frog in the video.

Very cool.

Kinda like this frog right here.

All of time and space...but not for me

Magnet #783 - New Doctor Who

OMG, an official DW magnet!

Look, I'm not saying it's because someone in the official Doctor Who world got tired of me using my two official DW magnet sets to magnetblog, or me making my own DW magnets to magnetblog about.

Maybe someone at BBC-A just really loves magnets.

But dudes. I'm just sayin'. OMG, an official magnet!

Mind you, I'm still disappointed I didn't get into last night's screening/panel in the village. (You know, the other, public screening/panel, instead of the one that I missed at the Paley Center.)

It was kind of silly for them to pick such a small venue in the first place, but yet again, US audience for this show was underestimated. (To be honest, I did, too, really, because from what I understand there were people who drove 6 and 7 hours to get here. Something that I likely wouldn't have done, even if it were David Tennant and Russell T Davies and Billie Piper.)

Eh, it's fine. I can live with my not true-fan status. I'm still more mad about the Paley member communications thing anyway.

Besides, in the end, we walked down the street for some supergood S'Mac (Imagine, a place that only sells mac & cheese. Like Rice to Riches that only sells rice pudding, it's one of the happiest places on earth.) and got to watch a police chase at the same time! And ya'll wonder why I don't go below 14th street.

I will confess, though, that because of that missed first session at the Paley and this missed session in the village (and no, I didn't want to brave the Apple crazies on Tuesday), I've kinda been avoiding the Whovian media blitz.

I don't want to see pictures about what I'm missing. I don't want to see Tweets about what I'm missing. I'm like that spoiled brat who didn't get her candy, and now doesn't want to know that candy exists. Like I know it's out there. But not for me.

Yes, I'm pouting. Yes, I'm considering canceling my Paley membership.

Still. Hmph. I guess we'll have to see if BBC sends the team out for Comic-Con in July.

eta:
Oh! I have to tell ya'll, I've been reading the RTD book, A Writer's Tale. Great fun. Heavy to lug around the subways/buses, but worth the read, if you're a fan. Then again, if you're a true-fan, you've probably already read the original and the revised editions.

Why wasn't I notified?!?!

Magnet #776 - New Doctor Who

Dudes. Dudes! So this Wednesday, USA Today's hosting a panel/preview with the new Doctor, his new companion, and their new executive producer. How did I know this? Cuz @BBCAmerica Tweeted, then FB'd it.

And I was all over it, within seconds, immediately Tweeting three (now four) additional souls to go with me. Because that's how social media works.

This morning, via an @PaleyCenter Tweet, I find out that the Paley Center is co-hosting the same event with BBCAmerica. Tonight!

An event, as far as I can tell, was *not* widely talked about. An event, that I said to one of my friends not two weeks ago, it's odd that Paley's not doing anything with BBC-A about this, especially since they're gonna be in town for the USA Today thing.

Clearly, I would rather have gone to the Paley Center event, first and foremost, because I've been a member of the Paley Center for a few years now. A member! How was I not notified?!?! Mind you, I'm always pushing the Paley, on joy magnetism, on Twitter and FB, and to all my friends on whatever boards I visit. I always know what's going on at the Paley!

But, I didn't see the DW notice on FB, and I'm a group member. I didn't see it on Twitter, and I follow both @PaleyCenter and @BBCAmerica. I don't even remember seeing it on the many collateral pieces they send to me - in duplicate, because they think I'm two different people with two different memberships!

To be fair, I'm sure the panel info was emailed to my Excite account (shut it, I know). But it doesn't stop me from being frustrated that I didn't find out through any social media outlets, where I spend half my working and personal life to begin with.

Oh, I should totally get over it, because I'm gonna see the very same people on Wednesday night in the village, admittedly with a demo that's probably more my age than the Paley membership. And it's totally ridiculous that I should be this upset, particularly as I'm not even 100% in Matt Smith's corner (probably more like 80%). It's not like they're hosting David Tennant or anything.

But, I just hate missing out on things here in town. Especially when I've taken measures to ward against it...like making sure I'm a member of fun, cool places in order to not miss out on fun, cool things.

And, at the risk of sounding like one of those people who hashtag everything in life, this was a #totalsocialmediafail, particularly as I totally could have wrangled an additional four people to come with me!

Hmph. And now I've wasted a perfectly good homemade Doctor Who magnet on this rant, rather than talk about the new series and the new Doctor and the new companion and the new executive producer and the new ad campaign and the new branding! Oh, wait. I just did.

Still. Grrrrr.

eta:
And now I'm extremely disappointed, because I did just go check my Excite inbox that I haven't checked since middle of January. And, no. There wasn't a notice. Hmph. That's not cool. That's not cool. At. All.

Make real the glory*

Magnet #730 - Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury, England, is a sister city of Salisbury, NC. I haven't a clue if that's official or not, but I do remember a high school choral group going over there to sing in at Salisbury Cathedral, and them calling it a sister city, so let's go with yes, official.

I've not been to Salisbury, England - I think this magnet came from my sister. The cathedral was built in the 1200s - dudes, that's 750 years ago! It never ceases to amaze me that these giant structures were built so long ago, and they're still standing. Yet, I don't ever have that feeling about today's new builds that they'll last out the century. Hmmm.

What makes this cathedral different from most religious structures of this size, is that it was fully built within a century, that is 1220-1258, and without any major additions afterward. It was built in one style - Early English Gothic - and one style only...rather than other cathedrals built over several centuries that end up having several architectural styles incorporated into the buildings - depending on the time and the architect in charge.

The Cathedral has the tallest spire in Britain, coming in at just over 400 feet. Plus, it has the country's oldest working clock, from the 1300s. And, it has one of the four existing copies of the Magna Carta from 1215. Lots of stuff to see and do here.

I picked it for today, because I'm watching BBC-America's airing of the BAFTAs - the English Oscars, which are always fun to watch, but also because I've been thinking about Salisbury, NC, these last couple of days, as I watch the statuses and comments on my home Facebook account fly by.

It just amazes me how people that I grew up with high school and college know each other - even if they were from different parts of my life, from different areas of Salisbury. And yet, they all go to the same games, meetings and churches, not always realizing that they have me in common.

It's weird, that. But, I guess that's what happens when you grow up in a town as small as ours.

* From the cathedral's mission statement: Salisbury Cathedral exists to make real the glory and presence of God in the world.

Off with their heads!

Magnet #674 - Tower of London

Love visiting the Tower of London, if only for the years and years and years of history cropped up within these pile of stones - the thing was begun in 1066 by William the Conqueror, after all.

Plus, no matter how many times you visit, you don't run out of things to do, tours to take, things to see and history to learn. Which is probably why I love it so.

What I don't love, and why I picked this magnet for today, is because we just finished watching the Brit show Gavin & Stacey's Christmas Special, and are sorely, sorely disappointed by their own brand of revisionist history.

Lock up those editors for BBC-A, because honestly, they've edited yet another BBC show beyond recognition.

Argh. I get that they need to edit for time or content or music rights, but man, sometimes, the Brit shows aren't worth watching, when half the good bits are on some digital clipboard somewhere across the waters.

Sigh. They really can't be angry when people turn to alternative resources when 1) BBC-A airs the shows on a delay (which they were starting to get better about), but 2) When they do finally decide to air the show (like this Christmas special I'm talking about is actually from 2008), they have to edit (and bleep) the hell out of it.

Mind you, I would bet that in addition to saving almost two minutes in time, they probably also didn't have the rights to Band-Aid's Do They Know it's Christmas? Such a shame, because this scene with Smithy and Gavin? Is the best scene in the entire episode!

And, if you haven't seen Gavin & Stacey - get thee to the (unedited) boxed sets - asap. Such a great show!

What's the Korean word for Ten?

Magnet #665 - Korea

My friend brought this back for me from his Asia world tour - so cute! From what I've found, this couple is wearing the traditional dress of Korea - Han-guk pokshik (Korean attire).

And the other best thing about this magnet? It's a bottle-opener on the flip side. How funny.

I find it especially funny because I used to have this Korean client who we used to entertain a lot - in NY, in Jersey, in Vegas.

Yeah, that last one? Let's keep that in Vegas, man. Let's just blame the around-the-world vodka flight of shots. Good times.

Anyway, I just picked this magnet today, because there's a David Tennant video posted on BBC-America, where he talks about how big Doctor Who is in Korea. S'truth - the Seoul International Drama Awards 2009 named DW the Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year.

Apparently, there's a lotta love comin' outta there for Ten. Heh.

Bigger on the inside

Magnet #632 - The Doctor's TARDIS

Yeah, that doesn't ever sound dirrty at all. But, Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, that's what the TARDIS is. Everyone just knows it as the little blue wooden box that that's impossibly bigger on the inside than the outside.

What? I had to use it for today - Doctor Who was a trending topic for at least a few hours today, given that it was the UK premiere of the third to the last David Tennant specials.

And, no, no matter how much disdain and disapproval I get for watching it through "alternative resources," I couldn't resist watching The Waters of Mars online. Twice. About to be three, once the commentaries go up. And probably a few more times after that.

Sorry - but it's not like I'm spoiling the US market with what's happened. And, it's not like I haven't spent a trillion dollars on Doctor Who stuff. I'm totally buying the DVDs, and of course, I'll be buying the DT/Ten DW Specials box set when it becomes available next year.

So you know what, BBC and BBC-A? You guys continue to stagger your DW airings all you want. Still gonna watch it on both premiere dates, it'll just feel like a little time traveling of my own, is all.

If these walls could talk

Magnet #589 - Detail of Teaplate, by Caughley of Shropshire, c. 1790

I took the bus to the hinterlands of London to visit the Geffrye Museum to see their Christmas through the ages exhibition, where they basically redress their Living Rooms exhibit into a Christmas theme. It's fascinating.

The museum design itself has a unique design element of peering through a keyhole, and you really do get to peek into the past. While I'm not a furniture and textiles junkie, I really enjoyed walking through the long corridor of the historic house, where they section off each century's living rooms, showing you a cool glimpse into the past.

Whether it was the Jane Austen-esque room, or the Jane Jetson-esque room, you can almost imagine the family that lived there, the clothes they wore and the lives they led. Having them dressed for Christmas, you can see foods they served, the decorations they used, when they started using trees. Loved it. And, if you can't make it there - they have a cool little virtual tour.

What's cool is that the Geffrye did a fantastic job of merging the old almshouses with the new facilities. As you walk through the centuries, you sense modernity right around the corner and through the doors - literally. By the time you get to the newer wing of the museum you're not time-shocked.

As with every museum I end up going to, I wish I'd had more time to enjoy it. But, I did pick up this lovely magnet - a detail of a porcelain teaplate, made in about 1780, by Caughley Pottery, on the banks River Severn near Ironbridge, Shropshire.

Lord, that cuteboy Paul from Cash in the Attic has taught me so much. Well, not really, but I can Google pretty good. Actually, what's fascinating is that there are pieces like this scattered all over the UK, little pieces of porcelain that are practically older than the United States.

Handed down generation to generation - if these pieces, or even these rooms, could talk, what wonderful stories they could tell.

Ride free or die

Magnet #564 - Harley-Davidson

Here's why I should never be a Nielsen family: I skew show demographics like no one's business.

It's not often that someone from the same demo watches Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place, ABC's Brothers & Sisters, BBC-A's Doctor Who or Top Gear, Lifetime's Army Wives, CBS' NCIS, and FX's Sons of Anarchy.

Can't help it - I love my tv in all its many forms, from cute to brutal. Add in a pretty boy and a love story, and I'm a goner.

Sons of Anarchy is one of those shows. Brutal, I mean. If you haven't watched the show, think Sopranos (which I never watched), with a gun-running, outlaw biker gang, taking care of their own in Charming, CA, and meting their own brand of justice along the way.

I don't mind saying that I had a pretty visceral reaction when I saw the first previews last year - you couldn't have paid me to watch. Not my cup of tea. But, if you've read any of the television posts on this blog, you know I totally had to give it a shot. It's what I do.

Sucked in. From the supersick opening titles with the fab ink graphics to the fanfreakin'tastic soundtrack - Sucked. Right. In.

And, I swear, it's more than just a pretty boy. Mind you, Charlie Hunnam's Jax Teller is easy on the eyes - especially in his "I swear every biker under 30 wears the baggy jeans and hoodies" cut, with his cute helmet and glasses, riding his bike. (As for love story, I do so want him together with Tara, his high-school sweetheart who got out of the life and became an upstanding doctor, but still has her killer tat on her lower back. She's played by Maggie Siff, who is oddly almost unrecognizable as Don Draper's client Rachel Menken, from S1 Mad Men.)

Anyway, after I got over the distasteful aspects (the outlawing, the violence, the supremacy of the other, other bad guys, etc.), I found myself left with a heap of engaging character complexities and impossible situations, brought to life by superb writing and raw acting.

Seriously, in what other world would Beauty & the Beast's Vincent Ron Perlman and Married with Children's Peg Bundy Katey Sagal be believable as Clay and Gemma, the aging patriarch and matriarch of an MC. In what other world would you be so engrossed in small touches of their lives (her menopause, his arthritis) and the well-being of their relationship (his infidelities with a tarty-tart, her spending the night in jail for smacking that tarty-tart upside the head - with a skateboard) that you forget that they possibly murdered her first husband to be together?

And, these two are just the tip of the iceberg - it's a magnetblog, remember? Of course, the Harley on this magnet is totally something that the Samcro boys would have to modify the bejeepers out of before taking out on the road. Yeah. Don't even get me started on the superawesome bikes.

Season 2 starts tonight at 10 on FX - this preview pretty much sums up most why I'm watching. Check out Maureen Ryan's and Alan Sepinwall's reviews for real reasons why you should be watching, too.

I guess if I had to think about it any harder, I'm betting the real reason I like this show, is because I feel like such a bad-ass watching it - like I could actually be a biker chick, kicking ass and taking names. (But you know, nicer.)

eta:
OMG! I don't know how I forgot about this! But, now I'm wondering if the Samcro clubhouse is anything like the old Hell's Angels haunt we used to pass every so often down in NC. And every time we'd pass it, Mom would be like, "that's where the Hell's Angels are!" as the whole family would look to the left as we passed.

eta2:
Oh. My. Good Gravy. That was one helluva season premiere. Ya'll better catch up. For realz, yo.

Coat of many colors

Magnet #537 - Elderly Couple, Uzbekistan, purchased by my sister Julie

Save the World Sister keeps bugging me to start giving people magnet bylines for magnets that are given to me. As much as I appreciate every single magnet ya'll have given me, I'm not going to start doing that.

The second I do, I have to go back through the last 535 magnets and figuring out from whence they came. What if I make a mistake? What if you're offended? No, I can't always give credit where credit is due - just know that I'm much appreciative if you've given me a magnet or 30. I love them all.

That said, Save the World Sister is the one who brought me this magnet from the far reaches of Uzbekistan, having spent time there with the Peace Corps. Thank you. Julie. Who purchased this magnet. Magnet #537. From Uzbekistan. Hee.

I'm picking this one for today because it totally reminds of the only two reality shows that I've totally gotten sucked into - BBC's Any Dream Will Do and How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? where they allowed the British public to cast Joseph from Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Maria from Sound of Music for the West End productions.

I couldn't help it. I know they both aired more than a couple of years ago in the UK, but just now got to us here in the States this year. I know they both had winners that I totally Googled, so that I was completely and totally spoiled for the endings. I know it was superduper cheesy and I got way too involved in the shows and the contestants. I know that my search engines have begun saving the phrase, "josephs/marias, what are they doing now?"

But, dudes. C'mon. It was Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was John Barrowman. It was Graham Norton. And there were pretty boys! Singing! With accents! Hells, yeah I was there. Every Sunday night. No lie. Even when the pretty boys from Joseph turned into the pretty girls from Maria. Odd how you get attached to your favorites, though. (And scary, too. Now I see how ya'll American Idol folks get sucked in.)

Oh, I know it's silly - but in high school, I had a thing for Andrew Lloyd Webber's music. Ok, really, it was a thing for my hot band director, who had a thing for Andrew Lloyd Webber's music, but still, I'm very grateful he introduced me to ALW's work. So of course I loved watching their musical performances from all of ALW's shows (Loved it all, except for when they made the silly Marias fight - that was downright degrading and seriously ticked me off).

I am still mad that BBC-A took so long in airing the two shows - I mean, two years? If they'd aired Joseph last year, I would have totally bought a ticket during my December Is there a Doctor in the House trip! Then I wouldn't have been so sad to miss out on David Tennant's Hamlet! I could have seen my beloved Lee Mead's Joseph, instead of anxiously waiting for him to get a Broadway role this season. And I totally would have gone to see Connie Fisher's Maria!

Oh, silly BBC-A. Don't even get me started about how annoyed I am that everyone's oh-so-excited that they picked up Doctor Who Series 5 to air closer to their UK transmission dates, and are even committing to airing them unedited. Right. That should have been by rote, ya'll. Hmph. I refuse to thank Garth Ancier for a decision that should have been made as a matter of course. (Of course, I refuse to forgive Garth Ancier for not hiring me in the first place. No, he didn't close any doors for me [see what I did there?], he should have just known I wanted to work for him.)

Moooooving along...so why this magnet for realz? C'mon. Lookit at the old guy's coat! It's totally a coat of many colors, there's yellow and green and purple and...

What?

Monsters that go emo in the night

Magnet #536 - The MonsterOlogist

A friend picked up this magnet from one of the BEA booths - looks like a YA book, and actually kinda cool. For definite sure, I love this magnet - very well designed, and I'd bet the book design is fab, too. Hmmm, I might have to check it out.

Lately, I've been reading young adult books - mainly because I don't have to think when I'm reading them. Don't have to worry about anything in the world, but getting to the next page.

It's great. Actually, I bought a few books on that Chicago trip, and at least two of them were YA.

I'm using this magnet for today, because I recently got caught up on the first three episodes of BBC-A's Being Human, with Doctor Who's Midshipman (Allons-y) Alonso Frame, Russell Tovey.

It's a Brit show - and if you've read even a handful of magnetposts here on joy magnetism, you know I'm a sucker for all things Brit. I want to love this show so bad. But I can't decide if I even like Being Human, the story of a werewolf and a vampire, who live with a ghost. The three are Gen-Y'ers just looking for their place in this world, each trying to figure out how to be human, while being...not.

My problem is that I'm not really drawn to any of the characters. They're way too emo for my taste, and my tolerance for emo is pretty darn high. The vampire's all broody-broody vampirekins, the ghost's too neurotic, while the werewolf is a bit of a freak. Mind you, the actors seem to play those parts to the hilt, love the actors, hate the characters. Russell Tovey is almost lampooning himself - with his overacted shrieks of horror, and his whining. Don't get me wrong - I love Russell Tovey, he's cute as a button, and the guy can act, I've seen him. But, his werewolf hospital orderly character drives me insane.

On top of that, with the exception of the ghost who learned what happened to her (in an episode she knocked out of the park), I don't really care about their storylines. Thus far, each of them have sort of had their own episodes, where we learn their backstory, or see them coming to terms with who they are as creatures of the night. And, there's an overarching "the big bad's coming" storyline, but I haven't been able to care, or be worried.

Admittedly - I'm totally over the whole vampire craze that the absence of Buffy created, so that may be what's turning me off about this show. But it's sad if I'm trying to figure out if I hate a werewolf or a vamp more...and a ghost wins for favorite character.

So in the end, I guess it's not really such a mystery after all - I haven't been grabbed by this show, like I should have been. Like I wanted to be.

Huh. A Brit show I don't like. Mark the date.

Wish I were there, too. Hmph.

Magnet #517 - Comixology

Picked this one up earlier this year at NY ComicCon.

I'm using it today because I'm desperately wishing I'd had the foresight to get myself to SD ComicCon. Seriously.

Apparently, my friends think this, too, as within the space of an hour, I had at least three people tell me that next year we're soooooooooooooo going to ComicCon.

Personally, I do think we missed the boat. I'm convinced that they're gonna announce a Doctor Who/David Tennant movie (which totally will be getting a separate magnetpost, of course). Or - and this would be horrible - they're gonna announce that David Tennant's gonna be Bilbo Baggins.

Folks. This cannot happen.

Anyway, so everyone's all wanting to head to SD next year. Me, I'm sort of on the fence, because hello, crazy, crazy crowds, lonnnnnng lines, and very cramped quarters. Eeeeep.

Still. Jealous. Everyone's at the con and tweeting pics and lines and booths. Bah. So, maybe I'll think about it.

Anyway, in keeping with BBC-A week (apparently), I'm sure ya'll heard, Torchwood's on this week. (Insert snerk wordicon here.)

I'm excited, because it feels like TW's picked up a few new viewers these last three days. They're champing at the bit to watch Series 1 and 2 now.

It's awesome that people are engaged and enjoying this five-parter. But honestly, I'm just hoping that they're still talking to me after Day 4.

Bull-y for me!

Magnet #515 - Spanish Bull

Meet my new favorite magnet, it's pretty and shiny and mosaic-y.

And pretty, and did I mention shiny? Look at its horns! How. Cute!

The second I saw this little 2-dimensional piece, I immediately thought it was a Gaudi - not hard to believe, what with all the mosaic work running through his projects. I was thinking specifically that he might come from Parc Guell.

I took apart the packaging, and there was nothing attributing it to Gaudi. Still, I heart it so much. My friend just got back from Spain and brought him back for me - thank you, Maria!

There were a few others from her trip, but I couldn't wait to show this one off - so much so that I'm totally interrupting my planned BBC/BBC-A TV week, in honor of the US showing of Torchwood.

No worries, we'll get back to Cardiff tomorrow, particularly after ya'll see tonight's installment. Whew.

eta:
But, if you're looking for good reviews of last night's episode:

Televisionary's
Sepinwall's

And no one pay attention to whatever the hell the NYTs has to say about it. Silly.

If there be dragons...

Magnet #513a & 513b - Dragon Magnerine

Yep, another magnerine, this one from the Met. My reason for this one today is kinda two-fold. (Ha. See what I did there?)

I have this little guy sitting in my cube, the companion to the other dragon sitting in the opposite side of my cube. That's the one who, with the little pearl in his claw, is my feng shui symbol, my little protector, and bringer of wealth, power and abundance of opportunities. Of course, I've been waiting for him to do his job, but he works here and there, I suppose. I mean, I haven't fallen out the window or anything, so far.

But, this magnet in my Photobucket was a gentle reminder that Merlin's coming on tonight on NBC. Yes, yes, of course, I'm still watching. I mean, really, are you surprised?

It's not the best show ever, but it's passable as summer entertainment goes.

I just can't figure out why NBC bought this BBC show, when it should have totally been BBC-A, as a companion piece to Robin Hood, or Doctor Who, or at the very least, they should have shared the rights with Siffy, because hello, of all the supernaturalness of it all. Heck, it even fits better on The CW with the youngness of their cast.

As far as Camelot and King Arthur retellings go, it's actually not bad. I do enjoy seeing Arthur as basically an egotistic frat guy (hopefully with a redeeming heart of gold in the end), and pre-evil Morgana being friends with the rather timid but brave Guenevere. But, I really love seeing Merlin as the unassuming, kind-hearted geek, getting tromped on by Arthur, sometimes his friend, sometimes his servant, but always both.

No, my problem is really the fact that nothing of import actually happens on the show - the story lines are fairly the same: King Uther Pendragon (love seeing Tony Head on my tv again every week) desperately fighting against the Magic of the Week in his kingdom every week - even though he's banned magix of every kind, somehow, a new one pops up every week. And while Arthur tries to save them all, it's Merlin and his mentor Gaius secretly using magic to get the job done.

Still, I love seeing the cute boys (hello, young Lancelot!), and their period dress, and hearing the anachronisms of their speech, and making fun of all the hoyay between the boys, the girls, and basically everyone walking on two legs.

My favorite, though, is this guy:

The captive magic dragon, the last of his kind, the one that everyone goes to visit in the depths of the castle.

He's a see-all, be-all, know-all giant, flying dragon, whom you know could escape at any time (what with him being a giant, flying dragon and all), but for some reason, he doesn't.

Rather, he hangs out in his little caverns, flying here and about, doling out his rather slashy Arthur/Merlin intertwined fates advice, week after week.

Eh, like I said, it's summer, it's somewhat entertaining, so of course, I'm watching.

Well, I dunno what Keira has to do with it, but ewww*

Magnet #494 - James Bond's Aston Martin DB5

Another one of my Union Square magnets - this one I had in mind for if I ever finally watched the latest Bond flick, or for one of my favorite shows Top Gear.

Yeah, let's go with Top Gear, only the best show ever. If you haven't seen it - go find BBC-A, and track it down. Better still, find it on YouTube.

The beauty of this show is that everyone can watch it. Now, hang on, bear with me. Really! Everyone really can.

I'm totally not a gearhead, but find myself fascinated with the car footage. It's amazing. When you watch, you can see why guys love cars, the sleek lines, the sheen, the revving of the engines. They're just gorgeous machines.

But there's also the coolness of the guests - seriously, where else would you find Helen Mirren saying that she sets her alarm early so she and her hub can have some alone time. The first I ever saw of the show were the three hysterically funny Doctor Who interviews (Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and of course, David Tennant), and I was instantly drawn to the lap time competition.

I love watching folks race around the course, cursing all the way through it, and then finding out where they landed on the board. (I have to admit, it makes me all giggly, too, when they slap the magnetic strip across the board. Hah. I also admit that I'd totally be all over racing that damn course, too.)

You also have to love all three presenters - Jeremy Clarkson, James May and (no, he doesn't really look like David Tennant), Richard Hammond. Whether or not they're RL chums, they certain get on well on camera, and they make you want to hang out with them.

Or rather, they make you want to compete with them, in one of their wacky races. Remember the Wacky Races cartoons? Just like that. Whether it's across the deserts of Africa, the traffic of London, the country of Vietnam or the superscary backwoods of the US, you just want to go along for the ride.

And, luckily, we get to.

* Random almost-related-to-my-magnet quote from Jeremy:

I’m sorry, but having an Aston Martin DB9 on the drive and not driving it is a bit like having Keira Knightley in your bed and sleeping on the couch.

- Jeremy Clarkson

A far off place

Magnet #415 - Dubai Creek View

This is the other Dubai magnet my colleague brought back for me. Have I told ya'll that I love you guys for thinking of me on your travels? Very sweet. Thank you.

So, from what I've gathered from about a zillion radio interviews, this magnet might be the Dubai that the Doctor Who folks didn't get to see, during their rather cursed, three-day shoot in Dubai.

Last night, the BBC transmitted Planet of the Dead, the fourth to last of David Tennant's run as the Doctor. Sniff. But, with all their trials and tribulations, it was worth it the trouble - the Dubai landscape looked amazing, with the sweeping sandy vistas all over the place.

I won't bother giving you any reviews - Stuff on TV's done an excellent job of that. Spoilers be there, so go, only if you want to know.

I didn't spoil myself - I didn't have to. How much do I love that within two hours of the show airing across the British airwaves, I'd already started watching, and within another two hours, I watched it, and rewatched with the Julie Gardner, James Strong and David Tennant commentary. Ah, the magic of the interwebs.

And, no, I won't get into the ethics of downloading/uploading - I'll own the DVD at some point, I traveled to London and Cardiff, spent my money at the Millennium Center for their tour and did the Doctor Who Exhibition, gave my money to the RSC, and to the BBC for their tour, and of course, bought a ton of ancillary products I didn't need. So, yeah, I watched it online. Serves you right for a) not cracking down and b) for not hammering out a deal with BBC-A to air it over Easter - we have the same Easter here, thank you very much, Auntie Beeb.

But, I digress.

Overall, PotD was a very good episode, and I was happy to see the Doctor in action again. Honestly, though, for most of the show and for every sand dune they walked over, I was half expecting the Doctor and Lady Christina to come upon a very young Reese Witherspoon and Ethan Randall (Embry), and their tongue-clucking friend, lying in the sand.