My latest Doctor Who rant

OK, I don't know about most of you out there, actually, I probably do. If you are a part of that group of people known as Whovians, you've probably spent most of the summer struggling to survive your Doctor Who withdrawal. I am not one of you when it comes to that.

Actually, there may be some other differences that I'll write about quickly. First, I love the Doctor. That does not mean Matt Smith or David Tennant. I love all 11 of the actors who have provided a basis for the Doctor. OK, I've got that out of my system. Now I can get to my regularly scheduled rant. (Click here to see my other Doctor Who related posts.)

So the BBC and the head writer for Doctor Who, one Stephen Moffat, decided that for the latest series (British for the American season) that they should split the season in half so there is less waiting between seasons. This is an idea that I do not approve. Let me put it to you this way. I've only seen three of the seven episodes of the sixth season so far. It's not that I don't want to know what has happened, but with the split season, I have no excitement about having to keep up. I've still got a couple of weeks before I will be missing out again.

Aren't I curious about what I'm missing? Not really. The new fandom for Doctor Who just can't keep quiet. I already know all of the major details from the episodes, and I've even heard some of the details about the upcoming stories. Even Moffat can't resist spoiling some of his stories. (I don't need to know about Kill Hitler or why Rory has to die in every episode.)

Anyway, that's my rant for now. I'll definitely have more soon.

(PS with all that said, I can't wait for Doctor Who to start again.)

I still believe that one man can make a difference

One of my favorite shows growing up was Knight Rider. I know it was corny, but I wasn't the only one that learned about suspension of thanks to a talking crime-fighting car. Why do I bring this up? Am I going to get all 80's TV nostalgic on you? No, I bring it up for the closing line of the introduction to the show. In the opening montage we learn every week about the main character Michael Knight. More importantly we learn that he is working to prove that "one man can make a difference."

Do I believe that somewhat cliched TV message? I certianly do. I think that it is individuals that cause change-much more than groups. If nothing else, any powerful, world-changing group started with one person with an idea to change the world.

This is important because that one person can make a change for good or for bad. It's all a matter of what they are trying to do. It's a hard fact, but what we do with our lives has a lasting impact on more than just us. Every action and interaction has a lasting impact. So why not do your best to make the world a better place?

I'm not crazy enough to think that a smile and a kind word will fix all of the problems in the world, but I do think that I can make a difference in someone's life and that can have a bigger impact.

It's a hard habit to unbreak

Well, it's been almost a month since I posted anything new on my blog. It's a strange thing because there was a long time after I got into the flow of writing that I was posting something every day. I was really enjoying it. Then I started working on This or That and I started to slow down a little bit. Then one thing led to another and it's been a month since my last post.

I've thought about writing for a while. I want to get back to my Top Twelve X-men, and start some other fun things. I really want to get some work done on my Single-Post project where I write about topics that I've only tagged once in my posts. I think that will really help me flex my creative muscles in my writing.

OK, this is the second day on this one post. That's how bad off I am. I guess I should be happy that I got around to working two days in a row, but a month ago, I would have gotten this done in one day. That's basically what I'm getting at I guess. We talk about breaking bad habits and how hard it is, but what about getting into a positive habit?

Well, I'm finding it to be pretty hard. Some days are better than others. (Sorry, I'm not trying to make this sound like an A.A. meeting.) My biggest goal is to try to keep writing at least some each day. I'll be doing this not just for you, but also for my own piece of mind. Writing is a process that I enjoy more than I realized, and I like to think I can at least express myself clearly. It seems like some people enjoy what I'm writing about too.

So, hopefully, I'll get back on track soon. I've actually written my #7 for the Top Twelve X-men. I just need to add in the pictures of a certain Cajun. (Yeah, that kind of gives it away.) I'll be working hard to continue with the writing process.

For anyone cares, I'd love some suggestions on another top 12 list. I've still got some ideas, but I'd love some suggestions. Also, don't forget the Single-Post project. Look at all the tags with 1 post and let me know which one you'd like me to write about. I'm going to do them all, (theoretically) but I'd love to have some suggestions on what to do first.

Welcome to Modern Life!

Well, here we are again with another Single-Post Project post. It wasn't all that long ago that I wrote about the modern world and there are plenty of other topics I could tackle, but at the moment, this topic just stood out.

I think part of the attraction is the fact that the modern lifestyle has so much to offer. I can meet and connect with people all over the world. I can talk to them in real time or we can message back and forth. We can connect via video or audio or text in a way that would have been called Science Fiction twenty years ago. However, it's all real, and we have it right here in our own little handheld devices as well.

I just got thinking how so much of what we currently have looks like something out of Star Trek. (I watched a few shows about it.) You know, Star Trek's communicators are like low-tech cell phone, and things like that. So what about those tricorders that could do body scans and all sorts of other strange things. I'm really just wondering if there's a tricorder app out there. (OK, I looked it up and if you have an Android phone, you can download a tricorder app.)

So, yes, we are doing all sorts of new and exciting things thanks to our ever improving technology, but does it really make our lives any better? There was a time that I was addicted to Facebook. Then I started connecting with random people on Tumblr and that's where I spend most of my time. I'm not sure where I'll end up next.

I had a similar situation with my cell phone. I've had a cell phone for a long time and when it was time to replace my phone earlier this year, I decided that rather than try to find a suitable replacement for my old LG Chocolate, I would invest in one of those new-fangled smart phones. I wasn't excited about it, and I didn't really expect it to change the way I used my phone, but now I'm complaining that my phone isn't smart enough.

Technology is changing at a rapid pace and who knows what the future might hold. I doubt I'll ever see a flying car, but I'm sure that what we do find in the future will amaze us. I look forward to seeing what is in our future even if I'm worried that we may not really be ready for it.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

What's that you say? Why would I want to talk about something with such an odd title? I asked myself the same thing lots of times. My college library had a copy and I always looked at it when I was looking for something to watch. I'd pull it out and look at the cover and think it looked interesting, but then I'd think better of it and put it back.

Finally, one day I decided I'd actually check it out. It was the best decision of my life. Neil Patrick Harris plays the title character, Dr. Horrible, and from the moment he pops up on the screen showing off his evil laugh, you know this video is worth watching.

So let's start by talking about how this story came together. During the writer's strike, Joss Whedon, creative mastermind behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, got together with some family and friends and decided to start a new internet based project using the talents of actors and writers that didn't have anything better to do. Dr. Horrible was born shortly thereafter.

Dr. Horrible is the ultimate anti hero. In fact, he isn't even a hero. He's a wanna be villain. His ultimate dream is to join the ELE-the Evil League of Evil. You're going to hear a lot about the leader of the ELE, Bad Horse, the Thoroughbred of Sin. Yes, he's a real horse, and he has cowboys that sing his letters. That's just how evil Bad Horse truly is.

OK, let's step back for a moment. Dr. Horrible (who has a PhD in Horribleness) is trying to prove how evil he is in order to get into the ELE. He's also got an arch nemesis, Captain Hammer, played by Nathan Fillian. (You'll recognize him from Firefly and Castle.) Dr. Horrible is also trying to make a real tangible connection with Penny, played by Felicia Day, the girl he knows from the laundromat. They are a poor match because Dr. Horrible wants to take over the world and Penny wants to help the homeless.

I haven't talked about the Sing-Along part of the title yet, but yes, this is actually a musical. The songs are not your typical musical-style songs. The first song "Laundry Day" is all about how Dr. Horrible wishes he could stop time and maybe then he could actually talk to Penny. The music really makes the move. Neil Patrick Harris has an amazing voice and really makes the music work. (Don't worry, Captain Hammer and Penny are great too.)

Now, I'm sure you can enjoy the movie on your Netflix Watch-It-Now just fine, but let me suggest that you get the DVD. If you click on the link above, you'll be able to get it for less than $20, and it is worth the money. First you get all the parts of the original web braodcast of Dr. Horrible. That's pretty amazing on its own, but you also get the bonus features. First, there is Commentary the Musical. This is a complete musical accompaniment by the cast of Dr. Horrible. It's all original music that has little to nothing to do with Dr. Horrible. (You can also listen to the real commentary track if you want to be boring and traditional.) You also have the application videos for the Evil League of Evil. Yeah, people made videos to apply for this most evil of organizations. (My favorite is L'Enfant Terrible.) Most of them also have a song to go along with the application.

So check this out, I think you'll enjoy it. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of Dr. Horrible.

Finding time to Blog

Well, I'm still here contrary to popular theory. I've just discovered that blogging isn't as easy as it seems. I guess the better phrase is realized. I think I knew that blogging was difficult for a while, I just didn't have the realization until recently.

What makes blogging so difficult? There are quite a few factors that contribute to this difficulty. First there's the complication of coming up with something to write about. This is a little easier for me since I like to work with Top 12 Lists. It takes a while to work through the list no matter how many parts, but that doesn't make the process of blogging all that easy.

Sure it doesn't take much to come up with a topic, just mash a couple of things together and see what happens, maybe a Justin vs. Justin-Bieber takes on Timberlake. (No, I have no intention of doing this since I have no desire to listen to their music, so feel free to write it if you want to.

That's one reason I started the Single-Post Project. In the short period of writing my random opinions, I've come up with a long list of tags that only have one post. Why not try to write something using those tags again? What's the worst that could happen? Well, you'll have to look at the list of tags on the right hand side of your screen to see. (It's a big list with lots of topics that don't really deserve a second post.) The worst part is that I'll probably add lots of new tags as I go, so that will help keep my blogging going.

So I do want to explain my lack of production while I'm writing this post. You see, I've got a few writing projects going on at the same time. I have this blog for random opinions on topics all over the board, but I also have a blog that I set up for my creative writing. (I wrote This) I'm also a contributing writer for a fairly new website called This or That. What's really taking up my time though is the high social interactivity of Tumblr. It's a great site for connecting with other people and tons of overly reblogged content.

Anyway, I'm going to try to get back on track for my other blogs and get back on track for some daily opinions. I'll still be working on Top Twelve lists and this new Single-Post Project. Let me know what you think or if there's something you'd like my opinion on.

More about haiku

Well, I thought it might be interesting to reduce the quantity of tags I've got on this blog that only refer to one post. I'm not sure I'll finish the project or it will produce anything worthwhile, but it should give me plenty of things to write about. I decided to start this project with the topic of haiku.

For those of you who follow my creative writing blog (currently under the URL i-wrote-this.tumblr.com) I've been writing a haiku pretty much every day for a few months now. I've covered lots of strange topics usually supplied by my followers. I've written haiku about mac and cheese, broccoli, and orchids among a long list of oddities. It's a fun process and it isn't as easy as it sounds.

For those of you who don't know about haiku, here's the deal. Haiku were developed in Japan and they are a traditional poetic form in that country. They are short and sweet and the structure is pretty simple. First the haiku is only 3 lines long. There is no need to rhyme when you write. In fact, rhyming my be looked down on with this form. Next we worry about the length of each line. It all comes down to syllable. Line one has 5 syllables, line two has 7 syllables, and line three also has 5 syllables for a total of 17 syllables.

That's all there is to it, but it's not as easy as it sounds. You can't break a word with a dash to make your syllable count work. You're going to have to play around with word choice and word order to make it work out. I suppose you want some examples to help you on your way. Well, I've got some space so we can make that happen. Here are a few samples from my creative writing blog.

Lillies
on the water, in
a vase, growing in a field-
they are wonderful.

Smiles
A frown turned upside
down makes the world a brighter
place to those in need.

Travelling
Balloons in the sky,
planes, trains and automobiles,
let’s go on a trip.