A Great Loss to Canada

Jack Layton, leader of the NDP and my favourite living/active Canadian politician, has died of cancer. He was 61.

I want to say I'm worried about my party, worried about what this means in Ottawa, what it means in Quebec, and what it will mean in 2014 when we have another chance. But I can't. I'm just sad.

Rest in peace, Jack. We're better off for having you work so hard for us. Thank you.

So You Want To Watch Doctor Who...

I seem to be having this conversation about once a month now, and I figured I might as well make a post about it. If nothing else, I may enable irony_rocks instead of vice versa. There has to be a first time for everything...;)

I should probably point out here that of any fandom I've ever encountered, Doctor Who is the craziest. It could eat both Team Edward and Team Jacob for breakfast, tackle McShep and Spuffy for elevensies and still have enough room left to devour itself for lunch. It's a terrifying place, really, but also worth it. So I encourage you to watch, make your own opinions, and then join me hiding under the bed and just agree never to talk about it. Suffice it to say, everything that follows is my own opinion, and when it comes to Doctor Who, I am something of an outlier.

The other thing about Who is that it's been running FOREVER. You probably already know that. The length of the show, and the changes in the actors who play the various incarnations and the companions, are a large part of what contributes to the craziness of the fandom. Some people really hate Martha. Some people really hate Donna. Some people really hate Stephen Moffat. None of these people are afraid to share their ideas with you. This is inescapable.

(Note: I have, for the most part, been as vague as possible, but spoilers are probably inevitable. I have said NOTHING about the big twists of seasons five and six, though. So you're probably good. And honestly, if you're not expecting spoilers, you should just disconnect from the internet, plug in "Rose" and come back when you're all caught up. Still, I will give you a spoiler warning, because I am like that.)

( As the [spoiler] with the blue [spoiler] says: Spoilers! )

To recap then:

Everything that everyone ever tells you about this show, including what you just read, is next to useless, once they finish telling you it's good and you should watch it. That said, my suggested episodes are:

Rose
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
The Girl in the Fireplace
Blink
The Silence in the Library/The Forests of the Dead
Season Five
Season Six

After you do watch the show, find people who agree with you. Failing that, find people who don't bite and agree to focus on things that you happen to nearly agree on. Don't worry if you can't pick a favourite character (heck, I can't pick one and I've developed an entire flow chart about it...and I even cheated!). Don't worry if you can't pick a favourite episode. There's a lot to love. This is a show that's definitely bigger on the inside.

(But I swear, if you ship Ten/Rose, I may never speak to you again.)

(Kidding!)

(sort of...)

BONUS TARDIS CAKE!


ETA: In the comments there are spoilers and discussions of Shakespeare (and, on occasion, both at the same time).

And in better news, some vid recs

I realized that I never actually posted the rec for that Game of Thrones vid I talked about when I explained why I sat down and watched the show over the weekend. So here's the rec. The song is "Thistle And Weeds" which I had never heard, by Mumford and Sons, which I'd only heard of because of the Lion song. Anyway, the first 20 seconds of the vid was enough to make me watch the show. It's really that good. The vid focuses primarily on Dany and her various relationships. It pulls no punches. Literally. But the song encompasses Dany's determination and the path she takes to find her power, which was something I adored in the series itself. I also really, really liked the editing (which I won't spoil for you), and the song is a wonderful kind of understatedly epic that makes me wonder why no one ever pointed me at Mumford and Son's before.

Thistle and Weeds: Fire cannot kill the dragon.

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In a COMPLETELY different direction, we have the ADORABLE PONDS from Eleventy!Who, in a vid called "You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate", which pretty much tells you everything you need to know. The song and clip choices complement one another perfectly, and the tone of the vid is spot on with the series itself.

You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate: Oh, Ponds.

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I should probably have mentioned that all of these are from Vividcon, which I did not attend but looked forward to because I knew there would be great vids afterward. This next vid was the "intro", and it might just be the day I'm having, but I totally cried. FANDOM, you guys! AND VIDDING! *hugs everyone*

Intro Vid 2011: Welcome all

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This next vid covers a whopping SEVENTEEN YEARS (some of which overlap, but still) of footage. All Stargate, all the time (and it says something about the Ancients that I agree with...I think!).

High Voltage

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There is not enough "How To Train Your Dragon" out there. Just sayin'.

Roll With the Changes