Still obsessed

OK, I just had to post some pics. Because I AM obsessed. Here's a particularly somber one; just after Rose and the Doctor watched her dad get run over.

Here's a particularly happy one! He does have a lovely wide grin.
This is from, um, the third episode, after the spaceship crashes in London. Lots of happy Doctor in this episode.
Same episode; he's about to give Rose her own key to the TARDIS.
A more pensive shot, from the second-to-last episode...
Ah, I didn't realize this would be so small!
So, I was feeling a little weird about how obsessed I am just now, which led me to think about obsession in my life and the fact that it really goes all the way back to childhood. Early childhood is a bit harder to define, but horses were certainly an all-consuming interest. And by my early teen years I was as rabid a Star Trek fan as could be found... in my own way, of course. I didn't sew my own uniform, or memorize swaths of dialogue (well, maybe just small swaths), but I adored Captain James T. Kirk with a deep passion. Wrote my first piece of fanfic, too, in sixth grade. Kirk gets to kiss the girl but Spock saves the day.

And later it was Collies, The Clash, Indiana Jones, Mozart... and then in my freshman year in college I first experienced Doctor Who. I promptly bought three balls of yarn and started knitting my scarf, and in due course, tripped over it repeatedly. In my sophomore year I gained a fanatical love of Star Fleet Battles and the computer game Robotron, both courtesy of my housemate and later object of obsession, Erik. The passion for Erik ended harmlessly after a semester, to be replaced by an adoration of Doug.

In more recent history I've had an obsessive adoration of a couple of singer/songwriters (Rufus Wainwright and Sondre Lerche), and I can't possibly leave out my darling Firefly, short-lived but much loved science fiction western. Ah, did I love Firefly. Mal, the tragic hero, trapped by his ethics and desires and honor, leading his motley band of personalities.

But the Doctor... the Doctor so knowledgeable, so wise. The Doctor, so lonely. Alone, the last of his race. Always outliving his friends, leaving them behind. Tormented by what he has done. But still with that childlike joy in the universe, that sense of wonder. The ability to laugh at it all, to crow with laughter as a spaceship crashlands in the Thames. The Doctor, finding an English shopgirl who dares to speak up to him. Who dares to face danger with him. She's got such heart, this Rose Tyler, she's got such a smile. He's so happy he met her.

Bouldering in the Rochester climbing gym

The Rochester climbing gym, Prairie Walls, has a distinctly different flavor than the St. Paul gym. It's much smaller, but also more intimate, with greater cameraderie, and with far, far better bouldering. Shawn, Katie and I went there on Sunday.

Here's me, with Shawn spotting, as I claw my way up some rounded holds.
One thing these pictures made me think is, "Oh my god, my hair is grey." It doesn't strike me as much when I'm looking at my face in a mirror.
Here's an awesome shot of Katie and her powerful arms! She's the best.
Katie powers around the corner of the overhang.

Shawn powers around the same overhang.And makes the next move!

A view of obsession

Things I thought about today:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallifrey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_lord
http://www.thedoctorandme.org/


Ross just came into the room, asked what I was doing.
I said, in a guilty voice, "Nothing," with the above picture of Christopher Eccleston on the computer screen.
Ross said, "You're such a little girl sometimes," and hugged me.

First day at Taylors Falls this year

Looking up at the Devil's Chair... quite the famous formation at Taylors Falls, and quite the wasp-encrusted, on this fine spring day.

Kiri, just enjoying the ambiance and peace of this place.
Kiri's stuff.
Kiri's view of Wisconsin.

Christopher Eccleston

I have a bit of a crush. He is sexier as Doctor Who than in any of his other roles, as far as I can tell. Of course this is based purely on a survey of photos on the web, as I've hardly seen him in other roles. But dude, he rocks as Doctor Who!

And Billie Piper as his companion... she is lovely, and she can act, and they have great chemistry. The growth of their friendship over the course of the first season is a joy to behold. I do look forward to watching the second season, although with my fondness for Chris in the role it's going to be a jolt to watch David Tennant make it his own.
Y'see, the Doctor "dies" at the end of season one; he regenerates (into David Tennant). A poignant scene. The entire end of the last episode is heart-wrenching. Really. I loved it. It's that good.

Battle-frackin-star Galactica!

Ross and I started watching the 3rd season of the new Battlestar Galactica.
Oh my frackin' god. This series is so consistently excellent in every possible way. The acting is absolutely superb. They've got great talent here, and they're not afraid to use it. The filming, the sound, the effects... it all works together, so seamlessly and well. And the writing. The issues they address. The way in which they've made this series relevant to stuff that's going on in our world today.

I'm not going to attempt to summarize any plots - anyone who wants that can find it elsewhere on the net, or just watch this great show themselves. I'm just going to tell you how thrillingly good this series is. We watched episodes three and four last night, and certain events made me apoplectic with amazement. Other moments brought me near tears. I'm telling you, this is not just great science fiction - this is great filmmaking. This is a classic in the making, which will blow Star Trek out of the water. Not that such a thing is really possible, but this truly is in a different class.

Doctor Who - the 9th doctor

I discovered recently that there is a new doctor in town - in fact there has been for a good 2-3 years now, and I've missed out because we don't get cable. But thanks to trusty Netflix Ross and I have now watched the first season of the new, improved Doctor Who, and I must say that it has left me filled with deep emotion and excitement and love and tenderness and awe. I really do love a good science fiction show, and this has the added benefit of having such a history to draw on, and such a history with me as well. I remember fondly the college years of Tom Baker adoration, in which I knitted myself an overly long scarf that I tripped on repeatedly. I certainly feel as much love and tenderness for Christopher Eccleston as I ever did for Tom, and this despite the fact that I only get a single season of Chris; he bowed out after one, stating a wish to not be typecast and perhaps there was something about the grueling schedule...

The new Doctor Who captures the feel of the classic, while doing away with the sexist roles, embarrassingly low-budget sets, and some of the silliness. Ross and I kept exclaiming to each other about the intensity of the new episodes. There is some genuine scariness here! A sense of real danger for our heroes, even with the return of old enemies the Daleks who have been given more mobility and hence more menace.

There's a website called Television Without Pity, which I stumbled upon in my search for Firefly material (another SF show to adore), and I must say that the people who submit recaps and comment in the TWOP forums are admirably intelligent and well-written people. The site draws talent. I checked out the recap for the last Doctor Who episode and was floored by the depth of passion this writer had, and the fine job he/she did of conveying that passion.

So. I just read some of that TWOP pity stuff again cos I thought I'd paste some in here, but you really have to watch the TV show first, and fall in love with it, and know the Doctor and Rose and their relationship, and THEN see, or read about the final episode. I can't just paste it in for you.

Christopher Eccleston is wonderful. Apparently he and Daniel Craig were both in some BBC show from the late 90s called "Our Friends in the North", which one can't get in America on video tape or DVD. Rats. Chris has this wonderful manic Doctor Who energy about him, the way the Doctor always seems to see the world with fresh eyes, a unique appreciation, but also he has a sadness, a seriousness, as the manic smile slips into a deadpan gaze. He's the last of the Timelords; the rest died in the great war, and he conveys that solitude, that inner emptiness, beneath the sprightliness the Doctor has always had. I want to draw him, or do a sculpt.

April 12 gym climbing plus life

Climbed at the gym with Shawn. Led a bunch; felt strong. Did some bouldering. Now my knee and forearm feel stressed - I think I did a few twisty moves with the knee, or just too many leg presses. Gotta watch it - want to be healthy for spring.

Invited to Darren and Sandy's for dinner; I invited them here but they had food that needed cooking. Ross got his Honda 450 out and running! Cleaned the brakes and took it for a spin.

We did errands and stuff yesterday and spent a little time at the Northrup King Building. Steve Hemingway now has a studio/storefront there. He is a wonderful ceramicist who I took a few classes from. Going to the NKB and seeing artists and their work always makes me excited and inspired. I just started a new class at the Edina Art Center, and I am determined to go in with a plan each week (except for this last week when I had no motivation). I have such energy and excitement for art! I must learn to get around my blocks, my mental blocks; I have huge issues that I believe have grown out of a lifetime of working... issues with time use and focus and the desire to make the "right" thing right away. I have lost an essential aspect of art-making; the beginner's mind, the focus on the journey rather than the end result. I need to relish the journey and also feel like I'm on a particular path.

Also stuff at the Danish furniture store is mega-inspiring. I do love scandinavian design. So clean and pure.

Redwing climbing

First outside climbing of the year. Me, Shawn. Redwing. Friday. Temps were probably near sixty, sunny. We warmed up on a 5.7, then did Sleeping Bat (5.10), then Shawn led Cyclops (5.11c) and I climbed it on toprope for the first time ever, and think I could lead it. Then Start of Something Good (5.12a). We tried this last year, and once again neither of us could do the start. But I can see how to do it. Then climbed the route that shares anchors with Start - also 5.12. Also very hard start, but excellent climbing. Then wandered back to Cyclops area and did Wasp Mentality (5.11c?) Start is very hard. Couldn't do it. Tired, sore fingers. Then finished on Forearm Smash (5.8) from Wasp anchors. Tired. Didn't really need that one last climb. I was dead sore for three days.

bookclub

My cousin Sara and I have been talking for months about starting a book club. Actually we have had one official meeting, the two of us, which was profoundly wonderful and which experience I hope to repeat in the near future. We exchanged a few books and talked about loads of stuff.

She loaned me two books by Mark Salzmann, an author I had never read before. It was a great experience; I read "Iron and Silk" about his experiences teaching English in China, and "Lying Awake", a novel so entirely unlike "Iron and Silk", and so simple, profound and moving.

I loaned her "Tam Lin" by Pamela Dean, a local SF&F author who I have adored for ages and ages. I met her, once, at a meeting of MNSTF (The Minnesota Science Fiction Society - don't ask how the "T" got into the acronym) and she was charming and self-deprecating. She is not a prolific writer, but every book of hers is informed by her deep love of literature and liberal arts education. "Tam Lin" is set in a small, midwestern liberal arts college modelled heavily on Carlton, and at least part of why I love it so is because she captures an experience that reminds me of my own. She does it well, with a prose that feels effortless.

Anyway, I started a bookclub blog as an accessory to my other blogging. So now there's a link, and I'm going to try to post at least a little about every book I read. Even if it's embarrassing. Like, I might not want everyone to know of my appreciation for a finely written young adult fantasy novel, but screw it, I'm going to post about it anyway.