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stunt_muppet at 02:07pm on 23/11/2008 under college, doctor who, english/science otp, homework-fleeing ten-minute lj break, life
stunt_muppet at 02:07pm on 23/11/2008 under college, doctor who, english/science otp, homework-fleeing ten-minute lj break, lifeAnd about time, too.
List-like for a Sunday afternoon:
1. Now that I'm done writing for the week, 'tis back to theMasochism Academic Tango for the forseeable future. Thankfully, "the forseeable future" here translates to "until I go home for Thanksgiving", but there's a Big Damn Essay and a Bio project to be done in the meanwhile, both due Tuesday. Yes, I know I should have worked on them earlier.
2. The Bio project, I think I can handle; I have to do a five-minute presentation on the pathways I've been staring at for weeks on end anyway, so that shouldn't give me too much trouble. (It's what I'm doing now, in fact.) The one thing I'm really worried about is the Big Damn Essay, since Professor wants us to "go from one mental place to another" and "arrive at new and thoughtful conclusions about a piece of writing of your choice", which is typical of the kind of essay assignment I get but supremely unhelpful nonetheless. Plus, it implies that I have to know what other critical conclusions have been drawn about whatever piece I'm analyzing, so his blanket statement that it "didn't have to be a research paper" is a load of hooey.
Naturally, I've managed to choose a poem to write about that doesn't seem to have any critical dialogue devoted to it; ever since I read it I've been trying to figure out what E. A. Robinson's poem "Zola" was exactly about, given that there's a whole lot of pronouns in there, only one of which has a definite antecedent. But while there's essays aplenty written on "Richard Cory" and "Luke Havergall", the academic search engines are thus far silent on "Zola". Which is frustrating, to say the least, though it provides a handy way to weasel my way out of doing any actual research if I so desire. Or I suppose I could turn my attentions to "Luke Havergall" instead, since I liked that one too, but I'm not nearly as curious about that one as I am about "Zola".
Bleh.
3. I've realized that I can pinpoint the exact moment at which I knew I wanted to study Biology, and it was when I learned about the phospholipid membrane in animal cells. I have absolutely no idea why, but I thought it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen (metaphorically speaking, since you can't actually see it, of course). After that, I knew this was a world I wanted to explore further; I knew I wanted to learn all the microscopic parts that made the intricate machines we inhabit function properly.
It sounds a bit cliche, but sometimes it just occurs to me that the only reason we exist, let alone think and speak and breathe and live, is because billions upon billions of tiny mechanisms are ticking away, every minute of every hour of every day. And they must do it perfectly, or we never grow beyond a cluster of embryonic cells.
4. Ahem. On a less navel-gazing note, this site is at once disturbing and hilarious. Aw, look at the little flesh-eating bacteria! It's so snuggly and cute!
I think my favorite has to be MRSA, though. It's got a cape, see? Because it's a SUPERBUG! I think I want one.
5. "Yes, it all started out as a mild curiosity in a junkyard. But now it's turned out to be quite a...quite a great spirit of adventure, don't you think?"
- First Doctor, The Sensorites
Yes, Doctor. Yes it has. Happy 45th Birthday, Doctor Who.
6. Apropos of nothing much, I watched the William Hartnell Lost in Time DVD, specifically the extant Daleks' Masterplan episodes and onscreen clips, because while I've watched the DVD couple of times, I never seem to get past the first episode of The Crusade and The Celestial Toymaker. I've heard the audios, but never watched them all through. Brief thoughts:
- One. OMG ONE. One is so marvellously badass I don't even know how to deal with it. No pleading, no ranting, just standing in front of the Daleks with his hands on his lapels and telling them in no uncertain terms that he will hand over the taranium core on his terms and his terms only, thank you very much. And doing it all in a straw hat.
- I already shipped One/Steven a bit, for no particular reason beyond the ending scene of The Massacre (and because I wanted to have a pet ship involving One, if only for the lulz), but the more I see of them together the more I think it might actually be plausible.
What? Well, they do a lot of grabbing. You know how easy I am for grabbing under pressure and gratuitous contact. And then there's the surviving clips of The Savages, where the Doctor is *almost* choked up when he leaves. No lie.
- Speaking of which, even removed from any context (still haven't heard the audio, boo), the scenes of Steven's departure in The Massacre tug on the heartstrings mightily. Dodo hugging him and crying, the Doctor shaking his hand and telling him he's proud of him...no no, it's nothing, I've just got dust in my eyes, that's all.
- Two further points of shallow fangirlism: 1)I very much approve of wee whiskery mustache-less Nicholas Courtney and his rather camp Space Security Agent uniform, but listening to the audio I distinctly remember not recognizing his voice. I think he pitches it a bit higher here than he does when he's speaking as the Brig, which makes sense, considering.
2) It'd be an exercise in futility looking for Steven/Sara Kingdom fic, wouldn't it? Yeah, I thought so too.
- Good gravy, Katarina's death scene's a bit brutal, isn't it? It's bad enough on the audio, but actually watching the convict manhandle her, I couldn't get over some very unsettling implications as to what he actually intended to do to her if the Doctor, Steven, and Bret didn't comply. And then she reaches for the button and the next thing we hear is the rush of the airlock and Steven shouting for her...*shudder*
- You know, Scientists of the Future, perhaps if you don't want people wandering into your molecular transmission experiment or whatever it was meant to be, you shouldn't leave the door open. Seriously, a lock would have fixed all this. It would also quite possibly have ended the story right there, but the point must be made.
- I don't think the Monk will ever not be amusing. And I still want Jim Broadbent to play him in the new series, should he return.
7. To work, to work. If I get the PowerPoint for my Bio presentation done today and get at least the research done for my English essay, it's quite possible that there'll only be one all-nighter involved as opposed to two. Let's see, shall we? *buckles down*
List-like for a Sunday afternoon:
1. Now that I'm done writing for the week, 'tis back to the
2. The Bio project, I think I can handle; I have to do a five-minute presentation on the pathways I've been staring at for weeks on end anyway, so that shouldn't give me too much trouble. (It's what I'm doing now, in fact.) The one thing I'm really worried about is the Big Damn Essay, since Professor wants us to "go from one mental place to another" and "arrive at new and thoughtful conclusions about a piece of writing of your choice", which is typical of the kind of essay assignment I get but supremely unhelpful nonetheless. Plus, it implies that I have to know what other critical conclusions have been drawn about whatever piece I'm analyzing, so his blanket statement that it "didn't have to be a research paper" is a load of hooey.
Naturally, I've managed to choose a poem to write about that doesn't seem to have any critical dialogue devoted to it; ever since I read it I've been trying to figure out what E. A. Robinson's poem "Zola" was exactly about, given that there's a whole lot of pronouns in there, only one of which has a definite antecedent. But while there's essays aplenty written on "Richard Cory" and "Luke Havergall", the academic search engines are thus far silent on "Zola". Which is frustrating, to say the least, though it provides a handy way to weasel my way out of doing any actual research if I so desire. Or I suppose I could turn my attentions to "Luke Havergall" instead, since I liked that one too, but I'm not nearly as curious about that one as I am about "Zola".
Bleh.
3. I've realized that I can pinpoint the exact moment at which I knew I wanted to study Biology, and it was when I learned about the phospholipid membrane in animal cells. I have absolutely no idea why, but I thought it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen (metaphorically speaking, since you can't actually see it, of course). After that, I knew this was a world I wanted to explore further; I knew I wanted to learn all the microscopic parts that made the intricate machines we inhabit function properly.
It sounds a bit cliche, but sometimes it just occurs to me that the only reason we exist, let alone think and speak and breathe and live, is because billions upon billions of tiny mechanisms are ticking away, every minute of every hour of every day. And they must do it perfectly, or we never grow beyond a cluster of embryonic cells.
4. Ahem. On a less navel-gazing note, this site is at once disturbing and hilarious. Aw, look at the little flesh-eating bacteria! It's so snuggly and cute!
I think my favorite has to be MRSA, though. It's got a cape, see? Because it's a SUPERBUG! I think I want one.
5. "Yes, it all started out as a mild curiosity in a junkyard. But now it's turned out to be quite a...quite a great spirit of adventure, don't you think?"
- First Doctor, The Sensorites
Yes, Doctor. Yes it has. Happy 45th Birthday, Doctor Who.
6. Apropos of nothing much, I watched the William Hartnell Lost in Time DVD, specifically the extant Daleks' Masterplan episodes and onscreen clips, because while I've watched the DVD couple of times, I never seem to get past the first episode of The Crusade and The Celestial Toymaker. I've heard the audios, but never watched them all through. Brief thoughts:
- One. OMG ONE. One is so marvellously badass I don't even know how to deal with it. No pleading, no ranting, just standing in front of the Daleks with his hands on his lapels and telling them in no uncertain terms that he will hand over the taranium core on his terms and his terms only, thank you very much. And doing it all in a straw hat.
- I already shipped One/Steven a bit, for no particular reason beyond the ending scene of The Massacre (and because I wanted to have a pet ship involving One, if only for the lulz), but the more I see of them together the more I think it might actually be plausible.
What? Well, they do a lot of grabbing. You know how easy I am for grabbing under pressure and gratuitous contact. And then there's the surviving clips of The Savages, where the Doctor is *almost* choked up when he leaves. No lie.
- Speaking of which, even removed from any context (still haven't heard the audio, boo), the scenes of Steven's departure in The Massacre tug on the heartstrings mightily. Dodo hugging him and crying, the Doctor shaking his hand and telling him he's proud of him...no no, it's nothing, I've just got dust in my eyes, that's all.
- Two further points of shallow fangirlism: 1)I very much approve of wee whiskery mustache-less Nicholas Courtney and his rather camp Space Security Agent uniform, but listening to the audio I distinctly remember not recognizing his voice. I think he pitches it a bit higher here than he does when he's speaking as the Brig, which makes sense, considering.
2) It'd be an exercise in futility looking for Steven/Sara Kingdom fic, wouldn't it? Yeah, I thought so too.
- Good gravy, Katarina's death scene's a bit brutal, isn't it? It's bad enough on the audio, but actually watching the convict manhandle her, I couldn't get over some very unsettling implications as to what he actually intended to do to her if the Doctor, Steven, and Bret didn't comply. And then she reaches for the button and the next thing we hear is the rush of the airlock and Steven shouting for her...*shudder*
- You know, Scientists of the Future, perhaps if you don't want people wandering into your molecular transmission experiment or whatever it was meant to be, you shouldn't leave the door open. Seriously, a lock would have fixed all this. It would also quite possibly have ended the story right there, but the point must be made.
- I don't think the Monk will ever not be amusing. And I still want Jim Broadbent to play him in the new series, should he return.
7. To work, to work. If I get the PowerPoint for my Bio presentation done today and get at least the research done for my English essay, it's quite possible that there'll only be one all-nighter involved as opposed to two. Let's see, shall we? *buckles down*
busy
(no subject)
And yes, Katarina's death is so painfully brutal. I love her to bits (and I strongly believe that she's still very much alive in the Doctor's memory as "daughter of the gods"), and so each time I watch that final scene of her it feels like a punch in the stomach.
(no subject)
There's apparently a Short Trips story or a PDA or some such that elaborates on the Doctor's memory of Katarina, but I haven't read it, whatever it is. Still, I do think he's never forgotten her.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
One and Steven's goodbye sounds much like Five and Turlough's.
I must say, I slightly play with the idea of Vicki/Steven, not because I think they seem at all into each other, but because, on principle, they'd be a hilarious couple. (Also, she would make him crawl. *cough*)
The Monk is hysterical, and Jim Broadbent would be perfect. (Opposite Bill Nighy!Twelve? :d)
(no subject)
It is, actually, from what I've seen of the latter. Now that I think about it. Only, it's more like what Turlough's goodbye would have been had Nyssa been there the whole time and was still there as of Planet of Fire. I don't think she'd have reacted quite the same way Dodo does to Steven leaving (she's more composed than that, I think), but...I think her reaction would have been closer to Dodo's than Tegan's would have or Peri's was. Or something. I don't really know.
Hee, I hadn't thought of Vicki/Steven, but then I haven't seen or heard a lot of them together. I'll have to keep an eye out.
Nighy!Twelve, and Nighy and Broadbent's mutual presence in Hot Fuzz, are sort of what brought up the idea of Broadbent!Monk. ;)