Indoors-y things - of books and telly and new year type thinky-thoughts

[byslantedlight]

Hello! It's the Monday after Christmas, and it's a bank holiday Monday, and after three days of mostly sitting on my couch and reading books, interspersed with watching telly, I think I should probably try and be a bit more active today... *g* So - a post isn't a bad place to start, I think? Hope you all had good days over the break - and still are

Comments

[fiorenza_a]

I've found Clara more and more hard work over the series. She's too smart, was it you, or someone else, who described her as a Mary Sue? I couldn't put my finger on what was irritating me, until I read that.

Dickensian is not in an iPlayer friendly format - 20 half hour eps - I can't use series link because it has no 'not over metered connection' option and I'm on an economy drive.

Maybe if they release it as an omnibus...

Next thing I intend to read is my Star Wars trilogy written as Shakespearean plays, complete with stage directions (pressie). And all the advent/bang stories I haven't been able to read yet.

I have no idea what to suggest for your 2016 projects, I'm intending to get some jobs around the house done and build on my recovering health by trying to get fit again. No idea how well that will go. Will review this time next year!

[byslantedlight]

Yeah, I've definitely said before that Clara is all-too-perfect and know-it-all and a bit of a Mary Sue - though I suspect I'm not the only one! And it's not even that she's smart for me (cos she's not, somehow, she's just a smug know-it-all - and it shouldn't be possible to be one without the other!) - Romana was smart, and Riversong is smart, and any number of other companions have been smart. I think it's somehow that she's condescendingly smart and that the Doctor almost defers to her, which just really really bugs me! He's the Doctor! *g*

Dickensian is formatted rather oddly - half-hour eps fine, but two half-hour eps each night? That's just odd! Not sure why that makes it iPlayer unfriendly, though? If anything surely it's more friendly - granted there's a lot of them, but smaller downloads/streams? Unless you've got a really lousy connection where you are. Ours isn't brilliant here, but it's good enough to actually be able to watch iPlayer on without it stopping every two seconds, which is what happened when I tried

[fiorenza_a]

Sorry for wandering off, it's the '20 ep' thing. Without series link it means manually initiating 20 downloads, not at all undoable, just irritating and fiddly.

Last customer survey I filled in for iPlayer had a question about metered connections, so maybe they'll consider adding that at the next upgrade.

[byslantedlight]

No worries - let's see if I can get my reply through before the lj maintenance starts!

I suppose I tend to stream iPlayer these days. Now though - what's a metered connection exactly? Sort of like pay-as-you-go, I presume, and so not fully broadbanded? Cos surely they should still be pretty quick if you've got broadband? But maybe not if you're on a dongle-type thing or having a lousy connection... Anyway - there's 11pm - can I post this...? *tries* (*g*)

[dollidaydream]

Oh, I so admire you because you are looking *forward* to the new year with courage and anticipation. Exactly the opposite of me, where I generally cower away from it with trepidation and general lack of engagement! Good for you!

My plans are to find a job (a task which proved beyond me in 2015!) and the eternal desire to get fit and lose weight!

I meant to say, that yes, the Dr Who Christmas episode was a good one. Well, I enjoyed it, too. I think it might the the first Capaldi episode that I have enjoyed. I thought River was great, and I loved her sparkly gowns (what kind of sf geek am I???) Well, it was good fun and I was surprised to have enjoyed it so much. I think it's because there was no Clara and little angst and because River is a throw back to when I did enjoy Who ( the 10 era) rather than lately when I really haven't. :(

[byslantedlight]

Well, I don't know about courage and anticipation really - I guess I just figure that we don't have much choice, and I'm not ready for the alternative yet... *g* You mustn't be trepidationous... trepidousness... trep... worry about it though - things are just as likely to turn out well as they are to turn out badly at this point, right? It could be just the year when things start to go right again!

Finding a job's not an easy thing these days - good luck... are you looking in a particular field, or...? I can keep my eyes out for you! I'm wondering about being a bit inspired by the whole year-to-get-fit again myself - there's been so much mucking around over the last few years, that I feel the exact opposite of fit, and I don't like it! I want my energy back!

I really really want to like Capaldi's Doctor, which apart from Clara and the whole mid-life crisis thing, I really do... so as long as we can leave them behind him, then I shall look forward to next series! *g*

yea for sparkly gowns!

[fiorenza_a]

Good luck with the job hunt :0)

L.M. Montgomery (author of Anne of Green gables, the adaptation of which is on my DVD gift-card-spending shopping list and therefore on my mind at the moment) came up with “Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

Between that and Scarlett O'Hara's ''Tomorrow is another day'', you have my philosophy of life.

Hoping the New Year is trepidation free and brings lots of lovely things.

RE: yea for sparkly gowns!

[dollidaydream]

Thank you. I especially like the LM Montgomery quote! I will do my best to look boldly at the new year - in fact it could be my new year's resolution! x

[phantomas]

I like Capaldi, but I am waiting for next series, Clara-free episodes. I just could not get to like her, so I abandoned the lot.

And, you lost me at Astreiant :D Love, love, love those books.

I prepared myself with a few proper coaching and planning sessions, so I'm taking these few days to put all that to work and plan a full year of activities. Apparently, the main tricks are to write them down, divide them in little steps, and a weekly check/update with yourself :) fingers crossed! :D

[byslantedlight]

Oh gods yes - Clara-free episodes will be bliss! I hate not liking someone so much, but she really just sets my teeth on edge...

The Astreiant books are just soooo good! Have you read her Mathey and Lynes stories, too? Not quite in the same league (cos not much is *g*) but they've got me hooked too!

I like your planned approach to the year - I've had half a plan to sit myself down and do something similar. Hence the rambling on here, really... Half the battle's knowing what you want to do in the first place, I think... and then I can totally see your plan working, too! They'd need to be good, solid plans, too - things that are tick off-able... Hmmmn... *g* Good luck with yours!

[heliophile_oxon]

Not so much looking forward to the new year as trying to brace myself for impact, I think! *g* Not that I expect it to be significantly different, exactly (or maybe that's why);

however, nevertheless and notwithstanding: - onwards and sideways!

Not following a single solitary thing on TV at the moment (though will probably end up seeing the remaining 2 bits of the 4-part mini-series Tripped on catch-up or i-player or whatever it is; it's quite fun). I want there to be more George Gently, that's what I want! *g*

[byslantedlight]

Oh no - no impact! Just a nice, gentle transition to a year of lovely things for everyone, please! I think we've all had enough of the other kind, that kind of year has been going on far too long now, it's time for a change!

And George Gently - yes! I can't remember if we're due for another series or not... or even if I saw the last one at this point! I seem to remember gunshots and a river, and...?

I've never heard of Tripped - the trailer looks interesting though, I'll have to see if I can find it on catch-up!

[caffyolay]

It seems we've enjoyed exactly the same things on TV this Christmas! No surprise there. Great Dr. Who. And loving Dickensian! But the beeb always does do that kind of thing pretty well I notice. *g*

A week in Penzance in Januaury is what's next for me, and a new kitchen in Feb. but not much else. Other than sorting some reading challenges for 2016 and the books for said challenges. That was fun. Small pleasures. :-)

[byslantedlight]

The beeb is pretty good with that kind of thing - and they did an excellent job with And Then There Were None too - so much so that I was indeed quite disturbed by it, despite knowing the story to start with!

A week in Penzance - what bliss! I've been toying with the idea of going down to Cornwall just for a night or two before I go back to work, it'd be nice to start the new year by travelling, even if it's not very far!

I'm trying to decide what to do about reading and books and things next year too... which is partly silly, cos reading should be just reading, but I didn't quite get on with the challenges the way I wanted to this year - I did them, but didn't get involved in them, if that makes sense, and didn't keep up with reviewing... but I still like the idea of a book blog - maybe I should go back to doing that separately... My blogspot is still there, but because it's been taken over by google, I can't have it open in the same browser as I have my email here open, cos they're in different names - gargh! Or I did set one