1 pack of Doctor Who micro-universe figures from Woolies, @ £9.99.
1 pack of Doctor Who micro-universe figures and 1 starship pack from the Doctor Who Exhibition, £18.98 total.
1 pack of Copplestone Castings Cavemen and 1 Walrus, @ £10.00
2 issues of Miniature Wargames, 1 @ £3.50 and 1 @ £3.70
Total: £46.17
Total for the quarter: £31.02 + £22.25 + £46.17 = £99.44 (Bang on budget - £100)
Went to see 10,000 BC this afternoon. Oh boy, history, biology, geography, astronomy - they all get a hammering in this film. I can’t be bothered to even start listing everything that was goofy here.
It was one of the most by-the-numbers renditions of (the easy to understand bits of) Joseph Campbell’s monomyth that I’d seen in a while. I smiled at the bemusement when hunter-gatherers first came across the evidence of agriculture, but of course in Campbell’s scheme there has to be a ‘boon’ to take back home at the end (sorry, that was a spoiler). There were also bits lifted from the Bible, Stargate, Conan and 300, just in case the mention of Campbell misled you into thinking there were highbrow sources being used.
The action and CGI were very good, the actors managed to keep straight face. It’s not a bad movie in the sense that it’s exciting and visual, but it’s certainly one to watch with the brain switched off.
Oh, by the way, the Doctor Who and Star Trek trailers look amazing on the big screen.
sleepy2 packs of Doctor Who micro-universe figures from Woolies, @ £4.99 each.
1 rare Star Wars collectible miniature from eBay, @ £4.51.
1 Dinosaur Planet RPG supplement from eBay, @ £6.24.
4 OOP Grenadier dinosaur miniatures from eBay, @ £10.29.
Total: £31.02. Just about on budget.
Number One reason why I don’t think David Tennant is leaving Doctor Who -
David Tennant is, to the best of my knowledge, the only man to have snogged both Billie Piper and Kylie Minogue. You don’t walk away from a job with that kind of benefits.
silly
I’ve just updated the Dinosaurs in Miniature pages with the latest releases and re-releases.
Wargames Illustrated have finished re-releasing the DZ Miniatures prehistoric mammals. They’re also selling a set of rules called Tooth and Claw to tie in with this range. Written by Chris “every other set of rules out there” Peers who has pedigree on this area with Saurian Safari. My copy is in the post, so with luck I’ll be able to post a review soon.
There are also new rules out from Magister Militum called DinoMight and MM continue to expand their range of 10mm figures, now including some non-dinosaurs.
Finally on the pre-historic front Reaper have released a “Jungle Girl with Sabre Tooth Tiger” which is okay-ish except for the huge mold line in the photo and the fact that it’s an idea that’s been done several times before. Very nice cat though.
Meanwhile… It was only a matter of time… Pre-painted, collectible (i.e. random sealed boxes) miniatures for Doctor Who (via Forbidden Planet). They’re by Character Options which is a good sign (they make the very nice DW action figures) and the price is the same as for the Star Wars minis. On the downside (apart from the collectible nature) is the scale, 35mm, and the lack of anything from the classic series. Will I be buying them? They’re Doctor Who miniatures!
excitedI was tagged by Jack on the grounds that I’ve “not done a meme for a while”.
According to my LibrayThing profile, 858. I know I have at least one more to add to that list and I’d also need to subtract the 27 tagged as !borrowed or !sold. So 832. Minimum, as there may be more hiding somewhere that I haven’t added yet.
A couple of out of print role playing games from eBay. Last ‘real’ book would appear to be Clarissa Oakes by Patrick O’Brian which I found in a bookshop in Amsterdam and made Lettice buy because I’d only just bought something else there and the shop assistant was a bit on the scary side.
I finished re-reading Human Nature this morning. I’ve been wanting to refresh my memory since the TV version came out. The book is bloodier and does a better job of creating the historical context. However it does have a number of elements that are really superfluous and which the TV version correctly ignored.
In reverse chronological order in my life:
I bought this whilst on holiday in Tennessee visiting ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
gleet and littlebun so it reminds me of a great time as well as being a great book. Fortey takes a look at the history of life on Earth from the moment if started to the dawn of human history. Richard Dawkins did the same trip backwards in The Ancestor’s Tale but for me Fortey’s book is more engaging.
Very, very geeky. But as well as being one of the best Treknical fandom works ever it’s also the first book I bought online.
I could have listed several works of fantasy or science fiction that I read during my adolesence - The Lord of the Rings, Dune, the Pern novels and The Colour of Magic prime amongst them, but this collection of low fantasy stories set in a seedy city at the arse end of an empire is the one that stuck in my mind the most.
I was the pefect age for this when it was first published. And from this book sprung my interest in RPGs and wargames. It has a lot to answer for.
A childhood treat - a book with me and my family and my friends in it.
gleetpink_weaselThe thing I really love about Doctor Who fandom is that it’s very, very, very good at getting itself worked up into a good froth. And the reactions to the latest piece of casting news (not be confused with the day before’s news) are exceeding all expectations.
mischievousWhen you see this post, quote from Doctor Who on your blog/journal.
Points at the top of the page, I have a quote from Doctor Who there all the time, but here’s another one:
“My theories appal you, my heresies outrage you, I never answer letters and you don’t like my tie.”
Anyway, The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords &emdash; A bulging set of homages to SF/Fantasy - Harry Potter/Wizard of Earthsea; Captain Scarlet; Peter Pan; Flash Gordon; Return of the Jedi.
Harold Saxon, PM seems more based on John Culshaw’s Tony Blair in Dead Ringers than the real thing, and the “Britain, Britain, Britain” opening to one of his speeches was highly reminiscent of Tom Baker’s voice overs for Little Britain.
All of which briefly makes it all seem like some sort of attempt to screw with the minds of the media studies/crossover/slash/post modernism/irony obessessed sectors of fandom. Which actually makes me like it slightly more.
( talking about actual plot points that may be spoilers )
A final observation: In many ways the John Nathan Turner years didn’t happen as far as Russell T Davies is concerned. Most of the references to the Master’s and Doctor’s past came from the Third Doctor era. The depiction of the Time Lords picks up in 60s and 70s aspects and avoids the 80s (not such a bad move). The returning villains (Autons, Daleks, Cybermen (sort of), Macra, The Master) all predate 1975. The way the Daleks and Cybermen are portrayed owes more to their early appearances than their later ones. The Doctor’s lost at least a few decades and probably a few hundred years if he’s ‘only’ 900-odd in the new series. Just how much of his history did the Time War wipe clean away?
thoughtfulI don’t do squee. I’m male and an old-school fan and sensible and self conscious. But….
How bloody amazing was that?
About ten minutes in I was wondering whether this was a sly remake of the DWM comic strip End of the Line and was expecting a similarly downbeat ending.
Then Derek Jacobi started dropping hints and any thoughts about this episode’s supposed plot went straight out of my head. Instead I was on the edge of my seat pointing at the screen, and maybe, just a little, going …
squee
Ahem. Sorry.
bouncyI’ve managed to get the washer-drier to dry without beeping at me and flashing error codes. First time in weeks. I gave it a good thump.
Everything I know about engineering I learnt from watching Patrick Troughton.
pleased