I never had that strong of feelings be they positive or negative about Peter Davison being The Doctor. Yes, he was not Tom Baker, but would I have wanted another Tom Baker? I think that the answer is a definite no. Actually I think that I was more intrigued by his new companion Tegan than The Doctor himself. She was loud, opinionated and did not like to listen to what The Doctor had to say. They say that conflict makes for good drama so that probably explains why she lasted as a companion as long as she did. Plus there was her Australian accent to keep my attention.
One of the best things about the Castrovalva DVD were the interviews with Peter on what he thought of following Tom and his first efforts of being The Doctor. The episode itself was solid enough, but not a personal favorite of mine.
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On the comic book front, I reached the second tier books of my monthly reading. Ron Marz continues to keep my interest with his work on Witchblade, while Johns is slowly losing me on Justice Society of America. Some of this lack of interest might have to do with my shift from team books to individuals with a small supporting cast. Maybe if the Superman from the Kingdom Come universe were in a book of his own, I would be more intrigued by what Johns has to say but that is not the case so Dani and her growth as a character wins this round.
This morning after work I met with my realtor and renegotiated my contract with him for my old place. I like him as a person so the meeting was stress free and we agreed that the market is just slow and that there is nothing wrong with my place. Personally I was happy to have three different showings this month with one of them the day after Thanksgiving. Now if only someone would make me an offer. Having to pay two mortgages is not an ideal situation for me.
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Kurt Busiek managed to add a new Kryptonian to the Superman mythos and for the most part I am happy with the character. Others have been bothered by the fact that Krypton once had an interstellar navy and then disbanded it. This idea of them being well established spacefarers does make the idea of one lone rocket escaping before the explosion less plausible. However, putting that piece of the story aside, I liked Karsta as a person. She acted like a real person and not a stereotype. As to when we will see her again has yet to be revealed.
Speaking of revelations, with only four episodes left of the anime series Witch Hunter Robin, I have no idea how the story is going to end. Beyond getting the full story behind Robin's powers, I'm not sure what else to expect, because the series is quite unlike any previous anime series that I have seen. First of all, there is less angst and not a hint of a giant robot in sight. Plus despite the supernatural element of the series, all of the characters are very human in terms of how they dress and interact with one another. Yes, the organization that employs Robin and her friends is somewhat odd, but overall they seem to inhabit the world outside my window and not some imaginary world.
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My goal this week is to catch up on some reading. With the weather becoming more and more cold with less sunlight, reading has become my preferred way to pass the time.
Going to work is never easy for me, but going to work after leaving a party is even more difficult to do. Then when I got to work the very first thing that I had to was listen to another person in my department vent about their day prior to my arrival. There could not have been a more effective mood killer. Sigh.
At the party I was given a copy of Philip Pullman’s book The Golden Compass to read. Yes, I know that it is considered a children’s book, but I want to read it before I see the film with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig that opens in December. Many things about the book and the upcoming film have caught my interest. For example, I like the idea of people having an animal familiar of sorts or daemon as they are referred to in the book. From what I have read this daemon represents a person soul and exists outside their body in the form of an animal. I find that to be very interesting. That way a person’s true nature is seen by all and cannot be so easily hidden. Perhaps I am misinterpreting that part, but that is how I understand it.
By accident I found out the remaining episodes of the Taye Diggs series Daybreak were aired on ABC. I enjoyed watching the show last fall when it was a mid season filler during the Lost hiatus and was crushed when ABC decided to pull the show after airing five or six episodes. I never knew the end of the story. Now I know that the remaining episodes were shown to the public, but just in a different form. They were aired online only, but I had no idea that that had happened. I would have watched them in a heartbeat. Now I have to seek them out in other forms.
I may not have seen the final episodes of Daybreak, but I did see the final two episodes of season two of Doctor Who and I was impressed. The send off for Rose has to be one the best companion farewell episodes that I have ever seen in the series. Before I Saw Doomsday, I would not have considered her to be of the best companions, but her final scene is making me rethink my stance.
When I woke today, this was the first time in three days where neither my nose nor my throat was sore whenever I breathed and or spoke and for that I was grateful. Looking back, I think that I might have felt the first tinge of a cold on Monday after first being exposed to the virus on Sunday by multiple people. A mere three hours of sleep on that say had lowered my immune system and being around at least two people who were sick was more than I could handle. Then Wednesday spending the bulk of the day driving to and from Chicago was enough to bring me to my knees. I had lost and was trying to get as much sleep and fluid as possible.
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I watched my fourth Ki-duk Kim film this morning. Bad Guy was not nearly as graphic as The Isle, nor was it as lyrical as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring, but I still enjoyed it. Neither of the two main characters were as sympathetic as other leading characters in his movies, but they were not wholly evil either. I wish that I could best describe what appeals to me the most about this Korean director. Perhaps it has to do with his frequent use of anti-heroes.
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A box containing fifty issues of Captain Atom was delivered to my front door today. I only had a chance to glance at the covers before I left but they will fill some holes in my collection, which is what I wanted from the auction. Plus I could not pas up the price. Fifty issues including shipping cost me eleven dollars.
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Sometimes I focus on just one musical artist in my collection and today I chose The Shins. Yes, they only have three full albums, but there was still enough music to accompany my daily web surfing.
The last time that I saw Tori Amos perform live was almost five years ago to the date at the Riverside Theater. So tonight when I saw her for a second time once again in the Riverside Theater, I had some time to think about what had changed in my life during that time besides closer seats in the concert.
At both concerts the same person had accompanied me. However, five years ago she was just a female friend, now she and I will be married next March. That was not something that I could have predicted. Nor could I have predicted that I would ever have someone be that close to me. Perhaps in the back of my mind, I knew that some woman would come along that would have that effect on me, but it was not something that I actively thought about and or sought. Maybe I am fooling myself on that last part. I don't know.
This time around Tori created some personas for her performance. Part of me can appreciate the creative aspect of this move, but at the same time it didn’t add that much for me to the concert. I have always preferred the music element of a concert to the visual component. Yes, I suspect that that sounds odd to many people, but just being able to see the person perform live is enough for me. He or she does not need to jump around the stage amidst pyrotechnics and or a crazy light show.
Another slight downside to this concert was that I had fallen behind on purchasing her albums so many of the songs were completely new to me. Her last three discs including the one being featured in this tour have yet to be added to my collection. I may get them someday, but that did not help me at the concert.
Five years ago, I had not been to China or Japan. Now I have spent some time in both places and have fond memories of my time in each place. In fact I want to return to both places in the near future. Seeing parts of the East was a welcome contrast to my everyday life and confirmed some of what I believed about that part of the world. Since those societies are so much older than America, tradition is much more important and has a stronger effect on people at least that is what I saw when I was there.
Five years ago, I had only been a homeowner for a little over a year. Now I own two properties and have a sizeable amount of equity. Despite some people arguing otherwise, I still prefer a condo to a house. I think that it suits my lifestyle better and makes a two-week absence less of a problem for me. There is no uncut lawn waiting for me upon my return and I have never been that fond of shoveling snow.
With real estate being a recurring theme in my life of late, I have been gravitating towards various home improvement programs on cable television. Actually home improvement is probably not the correct word. This Old House on PBS
would be Home Improvement, whereas these shows that I have been watching are somewhat more sinister in nature. For example, one show is about people buying a house only to "flip" it after they have made some cosmetic changes to it in the hopes that they will increase the value more than what the upgrades cost them. Personally I find the process somewhat distasteful, because the people who do this kind of thing seem to be just superficial as the changes that they make to property. Maybe I am oversimplifying the process, but that is how it strikes me and is not something that I would want to do. Plus I have relatives who have a habit of doing this kind of thing with the houses that they buy and from what I can tell they seem to enjoy it.
Instead of watching another episode of "flipping" houses, late this morning before I fell asleep I caught a program where two experts tell homeowners what they need to do to sell their house. The advice that the two personalities give is mainly common sense mixed with some do it yourself improvements such as painting and moving furniture. Overall I found the program far less offensive, but what really caught my attention was the female host, Tanya Memme. She is one fine looking woman and I was more than willing to watch anything that she did.
I managed to obtain a copy of the most recent issue of Action Comics by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank and I can describe my reaction to what I read in one word: delighted. Johns is bringing back the Legion that I first knew and loved so many years ago. The Mark Waid version that preceded this new direction left me disappointed at best and disinterested at worst. Now all of that has been left behind and I could not be happier.
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With November here, we can begin our slide into the end of the year and all of the holiday madness that comes with it. I'm not saying that I dislike the holidays. I love them. I just don't like all of the stress that it seems to generate for people.
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Here is how Netflix describes the Korean film, 3-Iron, that I watched this morning:
"This moving film, written and directed by Kim Ki-Duk and starring Lee Seung-yun and Jae Hee, makes its North American debut at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. A study of impermanence and despair, it tracks how a homeless man attempts to find solace and sanctuary in vacation houses left empty by their owners in between visits. Although he may have a roof over his head during his stay, the fleeting nature of security continues to haunt him."
The plot may not sound all that impressive, but I was intrigued by the film. Both the male and female leads were perfect in their roles and I envied their odd lifestyle.
