Tag: doctor who

An Entire Sketchbook v2 – 2 of 2

An Entire Sketchbook v2 - 2 of 2 (mleiv.com)
Medium: Pencil Size: 5X7"
I just finished another sketchbook! I am still using the ratty 5x7 moleskine variety. It's just less commitment. :P

These are still mostly drawn from TV, although since I moved I no longer have a Tivo, so I am having to do more DVD (which sucks on apple - they may make great software on the whole but frontrow + mac remote is THE WORST way to navigate a dvd. Seriously, Steve Jobs, IT SUCKS!).

Most of the drawings represent shows I love and watch repeatedly, but I'm just going to call out The Painted Veil as the worst bit of romantic drivel ever made. It is so incredibly bad that the Bronte sisters would have liked it.

An Entire Sketchbook v2 – 1 of 2

An Entire Sketchbook v2 - 1 of 2 (mleiv.com)
Medium: Pencil Size: 5X7"
I just finished another sketchbook! I am still using the ratty 5x7 moleskine variety. It's just less commitment. :P

These are still mostly drawn from TV, although since I moved I no longer have a Tivo, so I am having to do more DVD (which sucks on apple - they may make great software on the whole but frontrow + mac remote is THE WORST way to navigate a dvd. Seriously, Steve Jobs, IT SUCKS!).

Most of the drawings represent shows I love and watch repeatedly, but I'm just going to call out The Painted Veil as the worst bit of romantic drivel ever made. It is so incredibly bad that the Bronte sisters would have liked it.

An Entire Sketchbook – 3 of 3

An Entire Sketchbook - 3 of 3 (mleiv.com)
Medium: Pencil Size: 5X7"
I just filled up my sketchbook. It was a 5X7" cheap-o brown moleskine. I think for my next one I will upgrade to the real moleskine - hopefully it has nicer paper :)

Most of the drawings are from paused TV (a few internet or magazine thrown in). Please don't assume I like a show because I drew it - ha! I just took whatever was on at the time.

None of the drawings has been removed except for the occasional personal doodle, so you can see my mistakes alongside my (much rarer) successes.

An Entire Sketchbook – 2 of 3

An Entire Sketchbook - 2 of 3 (mleiv.com)
Medium: Pencil Size: 5X7"
I just filled up my sketchbook. It was a 5X7" cheap-o brown moleskine. I think for my next one I will upgrade to the real moleskine - hopefully it has nicer paper :)

Most of the drawings are from paused TV (a few internet or magazine thrown in). Please don't assume I like a show because I drew it - ha! I just took whatever was on at the time.

None of the drawings has been removed except for the occasional personal doodle, so you can see my mistakes alongside my (much rarer) successes.

An Entire Sketchbook – 1 of 3

An Entire Sketchbook - 1 of 3 (mleiv.com)
Medium: Pencil Size: 5X7"
I just filled up my sketchbook. It was a 5X7" cheap-o brown moleskine. I think for my next one I will upgrade to the real moleskine - hopefully it has nicer paper :)

Most of the drawings are from paused TV (a few internet or magazine thrown in). Please don't assume I like a show because I drew it - ha! I just took whatever was on at the time.

None of the drawings has been removed except for the occasional personal doodle, so you can see my mistakes alongside my (much rarer) successes.

Brainwashed By Romance

I am currently reading Diana Wynne Jones' "The Game." And I know that she writes children's books, but I've gotta say that she is the *master* at creating male characters that you completely fall in love with. There are millions of anime fans out there in love with "Howl's Moving Castle" who know exactly what I mean here. Myself, I'm a Chrestomanci junkie. He was the stuff of my teenage fantasies. In "The Game," she creates this man with a few paragraphs. Less than one page, a tiny description and a bit of witty banter, and I completely adore Flute.
Howl's moving Castle - screenshot
Howl Jenkins - Loved by Millions
But I gotta say, it makes me feel played. Like there is this stereotype of the man I would totally fall for, and she is exploiting it. Exploiting it to a tee.

I read some really embarassingly bad romance novels in my younger years. My sisters were big Harlequin readers, so I tried a few out. I think my favorite (at the time) were the Regency Romances, which were like tarted-up Jane Austen. But they were all terribly formulaic (like Jane Austen): girl meets boy, girl hates boy, girl and boy torment each other, girl realizes boy's Tortured Soul, boy discovers girl's True Worth, they pine away thinking the other hates him/her, then on the last page reveal their love and all is perfect. It got very tiresome, and thank god there was plenty of good Barbara Hambly out there to save me from it.

But I think a lot of people still hold to this stereotypical ideal of a man. I see it in film all the time, and people still *adore* Jane Austen. And although I am largely immune to their beloved Angry Misogynist With Troubled Past, I wonder when I watch Doctor Who if I am not just part of a different group of brainwashed women, seeking out the Lonely Jester. Yup, all around the world are hordes of women swooning over David Tennant. And that makes me feel... really damn stupid.

I've been completely brainwashed. This is not a real person with bad breath in the morning and a constant need to fondle your breasts at inconvenient moments. The Lonely Jester doth not need a fourth slice of pizza and a quick jaunt to the loo after. He doesn't even have annoying siblings and bossy parents. He is missing whole parts of a real human being, with the rest just sketched in by an artful and manipulative hand. But I still fall for it. *sigh* Adorable Flute with his white hair and ready grin. Damn you, Jones, you are perpetuating my unrealistic fantasies. And please don't stop... ;)

OMG – THE MASTER!

Note: All UK Whovians who are a season ahead of us here in the States, go away. I don't want your "I know what's going to happen" gloating, dammit!

Derek Jacobi - The Master
I, Claudius
So I haven't been so keen on Doctor Who season three, which has violated many of my rules about Doctor Who (like the Harry Potter reference - hello! no too-current Pop Culture references!). But last week was Blink, which - of course, Stephen Moffat! - was fabulous. And they showed a preview of *this* week and I started screaming, "Oh My God! It's the Master! They're bringing back the Master!" And I began bouncing across the apartment like a two-year-old going to Disneyland on a pogo stick. My Significant Other - who up till now has been putting up with my weird Doctor Who obsession with grace and discretion - just stared at me in bemusement, having never watched the original series and still struggling to come to grips with my need to have a remote control Dalek. "The Master!!!" I screamed at him. "'I,Claudius' is going to play the Master!"*

Well, once my enthusiasm faded in a weekend of binge drinking and playing WoW, I am sure my S.O. forgot all about this outburst. But this weekend at 5:45PM I interupted WoW with enthusiastic screams yet again: "Oh My God! He *IS* the Master! Look, look, he's the Master!!" Because the Master is my favorite. The Daleks... well, they are fine and all. The Cyberman, yeah, I like them. But THE MASTER. And *I* knew he was coming. I was ready.

Dammit, *I* should be writing for this show. I wouldn't make Pop Culture references-!

*Classicist Note: 'I, Claudius' is mandatory watching for all Latin Majors. The Significant Other understands this reference.

Personal Dictionary

Because I am seriously reclusive and don't have a large community with which to share vocabulary, I seem to have developed my own peculiar use of words. Sometimes this causes a serious communication problem, like the time I told a sommelier that my wine tasted warm and he asked if he should chill it for me. So here is your reference next time I use a word in an unfamiliar context.

Barbie - adj., a beautiful but shallow and narcissistic girl. Works best as a unique identifier when you know several women with the same name and want to single out the one you dislike. Example: Did you hear that Barbie Becky used her college fund to get plastic surgery?

Bead Shop - noun, a money-sucking enterprise begun by the non-working partner of a romantic couple, wholly subsidized by the working partner and only engaged in to bring some measure of worth and purpose to the non-working partner's life. Example: Jenny's cake-decorating business has never made money. It's just her Bead Shop.

Blair Witch - adj., something of mixed authenticity or sincerity. Example: That last Bruce Campbell novel was seriously in Blair Witch territory. Does he even know Richard Gere?

Bug - noun, an endearment, usually for a small animal. Example: Isn't he just the cutest fluffy fluff-bug?

Entitlement - noun, a sense that one deserves something for some passive quality, and particularly that one deserves it more than everyone else, regardless of the typical rules of fair play. Often manifests in mothers, rich teenage girls, and businesspersons. Can be used in the verbal form also. Example: I can't believe that mother of two cut in line in front of 200 people who had been waiting all day. That's some bald-faced entitlement!

Fairy Tale Ending - noun, the inspiring success of someone pursuing their personal hopes and dreams, ala Cinderella and the like. Example: And then Jennifer moved to Chicago and became a professional photographer. It was a fairy tale ending.

Froofy - adj., describing a woman with large, overstyled hair. By extension, anything too girly, cluttered, and unnecessary. Example: She had this awful froofy room with teddy bears and precious moments everywhere.

Honey - noun, an attractive person; someone you would have sex with. Example: Scott Cohen is such a honey!

Mercutian - adj., someone possessing the mystery, wit, and attraction of Shakespeare's Mercutio. A jester with sex appeal. Example: David Tennant plays a very Mercutian Doctor Who.

Michael Yo - verb, To bring down a conversation by constantly coming to the defense of the targets of other people's jokes or criticisms. From the TV Show "Chelsea Lately." God, I know the stupid cunt's puppy died last week - stop Michael Yo-ing me.

Puppy - noun, an adorable dog of any age. Example: I haven't seen your puppy in years, how is he doing?

UME - noun, an acronym for Unjustified Male Ego, referring to the overconfidence often found in men lacking physical, mental, or artistic merit, with this attitude especially prominent when comparing themselves to women. This trait often leads to violent outbursts in an attempt to maintain male superiority. Example: I was almost run off the road by a guy with serious UME after I tried to pass him in the carpool lane.

Warm - adj., a flavor homey and comforting, reminiscent of sitting by a crackling fire on a snowy night. Example: I loved that tea. It was so warm and cinnamony.

Win The Lottery - verb, to abruptly become famous - often through no merit of one's own - with the suspicion of a Britney Spears-level collapse to come. Example: Who's the latest Disney child actress to win the lottery this week?

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