After watching the rest of Series 5 and half of Series 6, I must say that Matt Smith has grown on me quite a bit. I'd even go so far to say that he is right up there with David Tennant and Tom Baker. Actually, I will say that. He's right up there with David Tennant and Tom Baker.
After checking out who directed /wrote the first episodes of Series 5 and then seeing them virtually disappear from the show, I understand why I didn't like the program. They were directing him poorly and focusing too much on the aesthetic of the show than the content. I'm really glad they're gone. Although 'Vampires of Venice' wasn't my favorite episode from S5, Smith really blossomed into the role in that piece: he was funny, quip-y, haphazardly brilliant, and buried his deeply tormented self under his bright exterior; he was everything the Doctor is. The story arcs are becoming more and more brilliant and mind-boggling. Everything about the show is now surpassing my wildest expectations.
However, the episode that really got to me was, of course, 'Vincent and the Doctor.' Have an accurate portrayal of one of the greatest artists of all mankind, you have me hooked. I cried, a lot, watching that episode. The cast, director, and writers were all incredible; the Doctor's compassion really shined through, Amy was an excellent companion, and the man they chose for Vincent was remarkable. It was this episode that converted me and it's only gotten better after it. Good Show, Smith. Cheers!
The theme song, though, still not a fan, but I can get over that.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Why Matt Smith Isn't A Good Doctor
Let it be known, I love Doctor Who. I remember watching the old 60s and 70s episodes when I was little and fell in love with the Doctor. He's kind, considerate, always hilarious, and, as his title says, a being who wants to mend and heal broken people and worlds. He banishes hate-filled species like the Daleks and the Cybermen. He's flawed, he does make wrong decisions, but he always makes up for them two-fold. He is the defender of the Universe.
Like most fans of the show, Tom Baker was my favorite Doctor up until David Tennant came around. Tennant has this ability to make his viewers laugh and cry. He lets you see his pain, his happiness and joy. He lets you see his relationships with other people and his companions, he allows himself to have relationships with them. He's sweet and compassionate and sees the good in every life-form, no matter how evil they seem, even the Daleks.
Matt Smith and Series 5, however, don't live up to my expectations of the Doctor. Granted, Lankasaurus and I have only watched about half of Series 5, but I think it's safe to make some observations:
One- The feel of the whole series feels more American and less clever. The direction is very American and the music is very film-y, not Doctor Who-y.
Two- The theme song is pretty lame now; the lightening sounds are the icing on the cake- they're cheesy and take away from the song. Also, the theme is so quiet compared to all the synth noises surrounding it.
Three- The Daleks are really not intimidating or menacing anymore, they look like plastic-coated toys.
Four- In the second episode on the Starship UK, Matt Smith does a couple weird things. When he is talking about the Time Lords, he doesn't exude the amount of pain he should be feeling, especially after the End of Time. Also, when Amy figures out the the Star Whale wouldn't kill everyone riding on it, the Doctor made her feel bad and didn't even congratulate her on her ingenuity. David Tennant would have called her brilliant.
Five- He's pretty slow- Amy seems to be more clever than him, which shouldn't be. When talking about the images of the Weeping Angels, the other Doctors would have caught on quick that Amy was in danger, but Matt Smith didn't figure it out til almost too late.
Overall, he's pretty mean. He told Amy and River to 'shut-up' more than twice. If the director is going for a moody Doctor, be dedicated and make him depressed or angry for a reason (say, the fact that he banished the Time Lords yet again to a Time Lock), not emo for the sake of emo American viewers. He barely says 'thank you' or congratulates Amy on her smarts. So far, I'm extremely disappointed. Then again, I can just watch David Tennant any time I want.
I haven't watched the whole of Series 5 just yet, so this will be updated.
Like most fans of the show, Tom Baker was my favorite Doctor up until David Tennant came around. Tennant has this ability to make his viewers laugh and cry. He lets you see his pain, his happiness and joy. He lets you see his relationships with other people and his companions, he allows himself to have relationships with them. He's sweet and compassionate and sees the good in every life-form, no matter how evil they seem, even the Daleks.
Matt Smith and Series 5, however, don't live up to my expectations of the Doctor. Granted, Lankasaurus and I have only watched about half of Series 5, but I think it's safe to make some observations:
One- The feel of the whole series feels more American and less clever. The direction is very American and the music is very film-y, not Doctor Who-y.
Two- The theme song is pretty lame now; the lightening sounds are the icing on the cake- they're cheesy and take away from the song. Also, the theme is so quiet compared to all the synth noises surrounding it.
Three- The Daleks are really not intimidating or menacing anymore, they look like plastic-coated toys.
Four- In the second episode on the Starship UK, Matt Smith does a couple weird things. When he is talking about the Time Lords, he doesn't exude the amount of pain he should be feeling, especially after the End of Time. Also, when Amy figures out the the Star Whale wouldn't kill everyone riding on it, the Doctor made her feel bad and didn't even congratulate her on her ingenuity. David Tennant would have called her brilliant.
Five- He's pretty slow- Amy seems to be more clever than him, which shouldn't be. When talking about the images of the Weeping Angels, the other Doctors would have caught on quick that Amy was in danger, but Matt Smith didn't figure it out til almost too late.
Overall, he's pretty mean. He told Amy and River to 'shut-up' more than twice. If the director is going for a moody Doctor, be dedicated and make him depressed or angry for a reason (say, the fact that he banished the Time Lords yet again to a Time Lock), not emo for the sake of emo American viewers. He barely says 'thank you' or congratulates Amy on her smarts. So far, I'm extremely disappointed. Then again, I can just watch David Tennant any time I want.
I haven't watched the whole of Series 5 just yet, so this will be updated.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
What About Pointed Sticks?
Time for a primer on Fencing! No, not building a fence. Or dueling with fences. Fencing in Montana usually involves a hammer and whitewash, but we Montanans Fence with swords. Hammers would be cool, but I don't think Thor would Fence with a hammer, therefore I won't either.
Mind you, I've only been fencing (like actually fencing, not practicing footwork, which I did for upwards of three months) for six months or so, but I feel qualified enough to talk about it (especially with the Internet and my boyfriend, Lankasaurus, being so close for questioning).
First, form is the most important weapon a fencer has. If one has improper or bad form, recovering from an attack, attacking, or retreating can be exceedingly difficult. One fences from their dominant hand, naturally. Essentially, we crab walk forward and backward, moving our feet without moving our upper bodies. One's other hand must be positioned either behind their head or back as a way of counterbalance. We basically stand like this:
Second, there are three weapons in Fencing: Foil, Saber, and Epée.
In Foil, the target area is the torso, minus the arms, neck and head. Foil is based on the traditional training methods of the monarchies in Europe way back in the day when monarchies actually had power (no offence, England). The weapon doesn't need to be pushed very hard to obtain the touch. Foil also has this funny thing called 'right-of-way.' Yep, just like driving, only Fencers obey it more than drivers. Say one fencer (fencer A) attacks the other fencer (fencer B), fencer B can parry (aka push the attacker's sword out of the way to avoid being hit) and reposte (aka hitting fencer A after defending with a parry). It's not always this clean, however. There's all kinds of wibbly-wobbly madness that can occur. It's usually really nice to have a director watching the bout to determine what in the world just happened.
In Saber, there is also right-of-way and the target area is similar to Foil but is extended to include the arms (minus hands) and head. Saber is based on fighting on horseback- you wouldn't hit a guy on a horse in the legs, that's just silly. This style of fencing is a lot quicker than Foil, usually the fencers attack each other right after the director says 'Fence!' The forward crossover (a piece of footwork where the back foot passes the front to obtain lots of space) thus making the flèche (where one forward crossover's and basically leaps at the other fencer and runs past them) illegal as well. To make up for this, Saber fencers have created the 'flunge,' a flèche and a lunge combined without a crossover. It's a sight to behold, actually, seeing a person essentially fly through the air into a lunge without much propulsion.
Last, but not least, is Epée. I am particularly fond of Epée. All of the body, from the bottom of the foot to the top of the head is target area. There is no right-of-way in this weapon's rules, making that little bit of security one feels in Foil and Saber disappear, and one must be creative and confident in their distance to obtain the touch. There are parries, but they are strong, more like binds, instead of the quick tap needed in Foil or Saber. The weapon needs to be pushed down rather hard to engage the weapon and get the touch- the minimum amount of force needed is 7.4N or 750 grams-force. Needless to say, you'll get bruises if you're not careful or a madman like me. Here are my bruises from my very first time fencing Epée:
I'm pretty proud of them, I have to say. I'm just happy that I got touches on my other opponents. Touches happen so quickly in this sport that electric weapons are preferred so that the touch goes to the right fencer.
Fencing is possibly the most fun sport I've ever participated in. I mean, c'mon, you get to stab people with swords! And it's consensual! This, of course, isn't everything one needs to know about fencing, there's more footwork and parries and other stuff, but meh. Primer!
The Fencing Club of MSU meets at the upper gymnasium in Romney Gym on MSU's campus on Mondays and Wednesdays 7-9pm. Bozemanites, I hope to see you there!
Mind you, I've only been fencing (like actually fencing, not practicing footwork, which I did for upwards of three months) for six months or so, but I feel qualified enough to talk about it (especially with the Internet and my boyfriend, Lankasaurus, being so close for questioning).
First, form is the most important weapon a fencer has. If one has improper or bad form, recovering from an attack, attacking, or retreating can be exceedingly difficult. One fences from their dominant hand, naturally. Essentially, we crab walk forward and backward, moving our feet without moving our upper bodies. One's other hand must be positioned either behind their head or back as a way of counterbalance. We basically stand like this:
Second, there are three weapons in Fencing: Foil, Saber, and Epée.
In Foil, the target area is the torso, minus the arms, neck and head. Foil is based on the traditional training methods of the monarchies in Europe way back in the day when monarchies actually had power (no offence, England). The weapon doesn't need to be pushed very hard to obtain the touch. Foil also has this funny thing called 'right-of-way.' Yep, just like driving, only Fencers obey it more than drivers. Say one fencer (fencer A) attacks the other fencer (fencer B), fencer B can parry (aka push the attacker's sword out of the way to avoid being hit) and reposte (aka hitting fencer A after defending with a parry). It's not always this clean, however. There's all kinds of wibbly-wobbly madness that can occur. It's usually really nice to have a director watching the bout to determine what in the world just happened.
In Saber, there is also right-of-way and the target area is similar to Foil but is extended to include the arms (minus hands) and head. Saber is based on fighting on horseback- you wouldn't hit a guy on a horse in the legs, that's just silly. This style of fencing is a lot quicker than Foil, usually the fencers attack each other right after the director says 'Fence!' The forward crossover (a piece of footwork where the back foot passes the front to obtain lots of space) thus making the flèche (where one forward crossover's and basically leaps at the other fencer and runs past them) illegal as well. To make up for this, Saber fencers have created the 'flunge,' a flèche and a lunge combined without a crossover. It's a sight to behold, actually, seeing a person essentially fly through the air into a lunge without much propulsion.
Last, but not least, is Epée. I am particularly fond of Epée. All of the body, from the bottom of the foot to the top of the head is target area. There is no right-of-way in this weapon's rules, making that little bit of security one feels in Foil and Saber disappear, and one must be creative and confident in their distance to obtain the touch. There are parries, but they are strong, more like binds, instead of the quick tap needed in Foil or Saber. The weapon needs to be pushed down rather hard to engage the weapon and get the touch- the minimum amount of force needed is 7.4N or 750 grams-force. Needless to say, you'll get bruises if you're not careful or a madman like me. Here are my bruises from my very first time fencing Epée:
Fencing is possibly the most fun sport I've ever participated in. I mean, c'mon, you get to stab people with swords! And it's consensual! This, of course, isn't everything one needs to know about fencing, there's more footwork and parries and other stuff, but meh. Primer!
The Fencing Club of MSU meets at the upper gymnasium in Romney Gym on MSU's campus on Mondays and Wednesdays 7-9pm. Bozemanites, I hope to see you there!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
They Have Bodies!
You have no idea how excited I was when I read this article a couple weeks ago. My brain nearly exploded. That's right, folks, the Heads have bodies! The Easter Island Heads, that is. So much for all those films where it was relevant that they were just heads. Take that Night at the Museum!
Apparently this is not new news, but I don't care, it's news to me!
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/106129
What I find most astonishing is the skill of the indigenous peoples creating the sculptures. The tools they used would have been far less than what any artisan now requires, and yet the objects they create are amazingly detailed, rounded, and expressive. I like thinking about how they labored over these massive god-icons only to be told by some tribe leader that they need to be buried. I bet some of the artisans might have been a little put off. Or not. Maybe that was the plan the whole time, to keep their icons safe. I just wonder how they dug holes that deep and wide without the aid of mechanical tools. I vote they used dinosaurs.
If you want to know more about the Easter Island Statue Project, check out their website:
http://www.eisp.org/3879/
Apparently this is not new news, but I don't care, it's news to me!
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/106129
What I find most astonishing is the skill of the indigenous peoples creating the sculptures. The tools they used would have been far less than what any artisan now requires, and yet the objects they create are amazingly detailed, rounded, and expressive. I like thinking about how they labored over these massive god-icons only to be told by some tribe leader that they need to be buried. I bet some of the artisans might have been a little put off. Or not. Maybe that was the plan the whole time, to keep their icons safe. I just wonder how they dug holes that deep and wide without the aid of mechanical tools. I vote they used dinosaurs.
If you want to know more about the Easter Island Statue Project, check out their website:
http://www.eisp.org/3879/
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