Fandoms at Random: Doctor Who Ramblings

[It's been over a week since the Doctor Who New Series 5 finale, so I guess it's now safe to post this photo? There doesn't seem to be much context to it anyway....]

I seriously need to catch up on my Doctor Who viewing. So far, my partner and I have already seen all of the Ninth's episodes and most of the Tenth's - all the way up to "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End", anyway. After that we've the 2008 and 2009 specials and "The End of Time", and then we can start watching Eleventh's stuff.

At this rate I'm just hoping we can get caught up before Christmas, which is when New Series 6 kicks off.

Having already been spoiled for parts of "The Pandorica Opens" / "The Big Bang", I really just want to know what happens to the three people rumored to be Eleventh's major companions: Rory, Amy, and River (?).

And I'm torn on the speculation of River Song's identity. Is she the Doctor's girlfriend/wife? Daughter? [I hope not!] Some other type of blood relative? Is she the person who will wind up killing him? I'm leaning more toward the girlfriend/wife theory and I'm pretty much waiting for that to be Jossed hard - I mean, hello, people, this is Doctor Who, all theories are true and all theories are false.

On a slightly related note, it's kind of neat to be following Neil Gaiman on Twitter - except for the part where the poor man has been pretty much tearing his hair out over his New Series 6 script. Seven rewrites?! Gah! And as of the latest update the Beeb has accepted the seventh draft, but it still needs to lose ten pages. Holy crap. I really would not want to be in his shoes right now.

Aah, the pleasures and travails of fandom. And just you wait till I get a full head of steam about Inception - I still want to watch it and I'm still part of the fandom for it. My mind is the scene of a crime!

Leaving you all on this way-too-early Saturday morning with the Eleventh Doctor's theme:



This version is supposed to be called something like "Every Star, Every Planet".

Super Elisabeth smash! (It's super effective!)

[Right, yes, mixing fandoms and rather dizzily happy about it, thank you!]

Here is a song that I stumbled on tonight and it is a mighty song indeed. [Many thanks to the Facebook friend who found this first.]


The song is "Yami ga Hirogaru", performed by Shizuki Asato as Der Tod and Máté Kamarás as Prince Rudolf.

The original title of the song is "Die Schatten werden länger", translated into English as "The Shadows Grow Longer". The Japanese version, however, is rendered into English as "The Darkness is Falling" or something like that.

Anyone who's a fan of this musical will be able to know why this is an amazing and unique rendition: this is actually being performed by two very famous Der Tods! We have Shizuki from the 1998 Soragumi production of the Takarazuka Kagekidan, and Kamarás from the 2004-2005 Vienna Revival cast.

And to think that Kamarás learned part of the Japanese lyrics just to perform this song!

I think that it's one of the more powerful renditions I've heard - Shizuki's voice keeps going from strength to strength even though it's been nearly 10 years since she performed as Der Tod, and as for Kamarás, well, it's not too hard to imagine why he's such a star.

I'm deliberately going to Ear Worm myself with this song!

The Hero of Canton!

He robbed from the rich
And he gave to the poor
Stood up to the man
And gave him what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of Canton
The man they call Jayne


After all that blatheration and a couple of weekends' noodling around with patterns, yarn weights, and crochet hooks, I think I've finally managed to create my very own tribute to the 'verse of Firefly and Serenity.

But first: a familiar ballad for all you mudders and Browncoats:


Love how silly Adam Baldwin is. Jayne Cobb is da man.

And now, here is my own take on that gorgeously, ridiculously, forever-geeky hat:



Sure, I haven't bothered with the earflaps and the pompom on top - but it's big enough to cover my ears anyway, and I'm not exactly a dab hand at pompoms so I've given that detail a pass. But here is something I can use to keep my head warm AND to proclaim my Browncoat allegiances. [Although the real Jayne was indifferent to that conflict....]

Hope y'all think it's shiny. I'm pretty happy with it my own self - not bad for a first attempt / original pattern.

Meal in the City: Toast Box, TriNoMa, Quezon City

The Kaya Toast Set at Toast Box: two soft-boiled eggs, two pieces of white bread toast spread with kaya and butter, and a cup of teh tarik [black tea with condensed milk].

It's always fun to venture forth and choose another place to eat at for the first time. On the other hand, there are days when one just wants to eat something familiar and soothing - you know, comfort food. Food that makes one feel inherently better just for its mere existence.

One of the places where I can get food like that is Toast Box in TriNoMa, Quezon City. Part of the Singaporean BreadTalk group, this place serves traditional Southeast Asian food, drinks, and coffee in minimalist settings livened up by a dash of retro charm.

I've been a semi-regular at this branch for more than a year now and I have to say it's really become one of those places that I go to because it's so damn comforting to sit there and eat delicious food done right, washed down with an assortment of hometown drinks.

I often host meetings with friends here, as I did today, when I hosted a mini stitch 'n' bitch session-slash-super happy fangirl times. And it is still a favored go-to destination when my partner and I are doing our shopping and want a snack, a hot drink, or an actual full-blown meal. Try their Hainanese chicken rice and their nasi lemak; the kaya toast and thick toast sets are also magnificent.

And their drinks! Oh, wow. Try the house bestsellers like teh tarik and Nanyang coffee, or indulge in a delicious blast from the past like Horlicks. [I never had this when I was a kid - now that I'm an adult, I try to get as much of it as I can, as it is no longer being retailed locally.] Their cold drinks selection also features something that puts a smile on many diners' faces: a Milo Dinosaur. Fantastic.

The funny thing is, why did it take me so long to actually write up a Meal in the City post on this place? I guess I just keep forgetting to take my camera with me when I go here for a dose of homey good food.

Do try to eat here or at its other branches when you can.

Inception, in on the ground floor

Related post:
Inception: Rapid Review, No Spoilers

And there are still no spoilers here because I love you all and I love this film too.



It's so exciting to get in on the ground floor of a fandom: you're there when it gets started, you watch the enthusiasm rocket up to astounding levels, you feel the boundless energy of fans and their love.

I'm not looking forward to the inevitable schisms and wank - it'll come, most fandoms go through those pangs periodically. But for now the sheer explosion of inspiration and creativity that's come - it's exactly as Eames tells Arthur:

You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.

And that is precisely what we're doing right now. Thanks, Christopher Nolan and the cast and crew. We're dreaming. And we're loving it.