Tamino

Right, here goes. My review of 2006!

Hm, I’m tempted to rate this year highly because of, of course, Tennant!Doctor. However, I think a scene-by-scene commentary is required before I leave my final rating.

So, here it goes.

January - Boring month. Not much happened, the characters were rather one-dimensional. And oh yes, the return of that ’school’ scene. I hated that scene in 2005, I hate it now in 2006. Very low rating. 1/10.

February - Slightly better - Still nothing exciting happening, but it wasn’t as bad. I was getting used to the constant school thing, but it was still tedious. Again, nothing happened, but it was a shorter month than January, so it wasn’t boring for as long. Still, 3/10.

March - Much of this month was spent wondering when Doctor Who would be back on screen. I was greatly disappointed when the 31st came around and it hadn’t been on yet. Hopefully the year would get better from that point - Doctor Who, Torchwood, etc. I’d say… 4/10. Getting better.

April - Oh hooray, the return of Doctor Who! That gets this part a much higher rating. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any easter eggs, at all. So that pulls it down again. Hm, 5.6/10.

May - Ah, a full month of Doctor Who saturdays. I did not, though, enjoy this month. This was more due to school than Doctor Who - because the exams were coming. So much exam preparation. Yes, not a good month. 6.4/10

June - This month saw The Impossible Planet, but still more and more exam preparation. *sigh* Not much happened, as well. Mm, TIP and TSP were the best part of the month - what with Love And Monsters and Fear Her. So yes, purely for the enjoyment that TIP and TSP gave me, I give it 8/10.

July - The finale of Doctor Who - AoG and Doomsday. Oh they were most awesome. However, it also saw the final exams. A good experience, followed by a bad one. Of course, there was the bright side - I’d finished. Finished all exams for the whole year. Ah, that was a good feeling. That was a great month. 9.3/10.

August - The most eventful month, certainly. I saw my Dad, etc etc, went to Greece, etc etc, got my exam results, found out I failed [Which didn't feel too bad, actually], found a new college.. An eventful one, but nothing particularly “awesome” about it. A steady 7.7/10.

September - The dawn of a new school. It was a good month - the whole time spent getting to know teachers and classmates. However, there was no Doctor, no Torchwood.. It was a depressing ‘time between the seasons’. Much of it was spent rewatching Doomsday and Army of Ghosts. 6/10.

October - Ah, Torchwood. The premiere, and the start of the series. Those were most excellent. Anyway, there was a large bad part to the month. School was getting boring as well. High rating though, 7.4/10.

November - Yeah, not that good of one again. Torchwood was [slowly] getting better, but was a bit of a letdown each week. School was alright, though. Specially computing, as I was very far ahead by this point. Yes, an average month. 5.6/10.

December - Ah, this was a good month. I started blogging, finished all my task 2 Computing homework in an hour.. Plus christmas! A better one than last year, I feel. 9/10!

Thus, taking an average, that should put me at 6.0833333/10. However, I think I’ll round it up, because I can. 7/10 for 2006, and that’s my final rating.

As for 2007, I’m quite looking forward to it. We’ve got the Torchwood final, Sarah Jane adventures, more Tennant!Doctor… Plus exams! I’m REALLY looking forward to them next year, I wasn’t last year because I wasn’t clever. The subjects I’m doing now are much more what I *ENJOY* doing, so exam papers are more fun than they were dull last year.

Yes, I can’t wait for next year! Huzzah!

An Enneagram test. Click read more to see the results.       you chose BZ - your Enneagram type is FIVE (aka “The Thinker”).   “I need to understand the world”   Observers have a need for knowledge and are introverted, curious, analytical, and insightful. How to Get Along with Me Be independent, not clingy. Speak in a straightforward and brief manner. I need time alone to process my feelings and thoughts. Remember that If I seem aloof, distant, or arrogant, it may be that I am feeling uncomfortable. Make me feel welcome, but not too intensely, or I might doubt your sincerity. If I become irritated when I have to repeat things, it may be because it was such an effort to get my thoughts out in the first place. don’t come on like a bulldozer. Help me to avoid my pet peeves: big parties, other people’s loud music, overdone emotions, and intrusions on my privacy. What I Like About Being a Five standing back and viewing life objectively coming to a thorough understanding; perceiving causes and effects my sense of integrity: doing what I think is right and not being influenced by social pressure not being caught up in material possessions and status being calm in a crisis What’s Hard About Being a Five being slow to put my knowledge and insights out in the world feeling bad when I act defensive or like a know-it-all being pressured to be with people when I don’t want to be watching others with better social skills, but less intelligence or technical skill, do better professionally Fives as Children Often spend a lot of time alone reading, making collections, and so on have a few special friends rather than many are very bright and curious and do well in school have independent minds and often question their parents and teachers watch events from a detached point of view, gathering information assume a poker face in order not to look afraid are sensitive; avoid interpersonal conflict feel intruded upon and controlled and/or ignored and neglected Fives as Parents are often kind, perceptive, and devoted are sometimes authoritarian and demanding may expect more intellectual achievement than is developmentally appropriate may be intolerant of their children expressing strong emotions

Link: The Quick & Painless ENNEAGRAM Test

Ugh, FINALLY.  Blog.com’s been borked for me for the past week.  >.<

 Anyway, I’m back now.  I don’t know for how long.

 So!  It’s been CHRISTMAS!  Yaay!

 I got:

     - Celebrations
     - Celebrations
     - Malteasers
     - Doctor Who 2006 season Box Set
     - Doctor Who 2006 season limited edition Box Set
     - Doctor Who 2007 calendar
     - Guitar case, for the transporting of my guitar to school so I can [hopefully] get lessons again
     - £20
     - £40
     - Some little metal puzzles where you have to seperate the two things from each other
     - A new phone [Nokia 6230i]
     - Broken Sword 4: The Angel Of Death [PC game]
     - The Book Of General Ignorance [Stephen Fry]
     - Wireless headphones [Plantronics Pulsar 590a] [A present from me to me]
     - Lots of boxes of POCKY! [Another present from me to me]

Hoorah for christmas.

Also, the big Christmas event, The Runaway Bride, was shown.  I’m in mixed opinion about it at the moment, I’ll review it when I’ve seen it a few [53926] more times.   And Torchwood on Christmas Eve, of course.

As for the last few days, nothing much has happened.  I’ve been on MapleStory a lot, been doing my Computing coursework, and generally wallowing in the sad despair of someone that’s not got a Wii. 

I’m writing a review of last years Doctor Who christmas special, The Christmas Invasion.  I’m going to go through my Doctor Who 2006 season box set and write extra long reviews about them, because I can, and I’m bored.  Seriously, I’ve written about 1000 words on the first TWO minutes.  Which.. is amazing.  I think I need a shorter episode, *collapses*.

Also, some important things I’m looking forward to:

    - Torchwood episodes 12 and 13 [New years day]
    - The Sarah Jane Adventures pilot episode [New years day]
    - Free gifts on MapleStory! [New years day]
    - Going back to school [Less so than the others] [Thursday]

So yes, that’s it for today. I was hoping I’d have more to talk about.

Oh, yes, and this Computing coursework is killing my brain.  I have to dumb my coding down SO much.  Because, so far, I have coded [COMPLETELY automatically, as I -ALWAYS- code them] a menu system, and error catchers EVERYWHERE.  But NO, the coursework says not to DO those.  So I raelly REALLY have to dumb my brain down to do this coursework.

Ugh.

 -Mindez

It’s Christmas eve, officially!

Hooray. Hope you all enjoy your christmassies and stuff! I’ve not been posting lately, been too busy catching up on sleep. I’ve missed a lot. Woo!

As for what’s happened lately, nothing has. It’s christmas eve tomorrow, though. And it’s also Sunday, which means new Torchwood. So I’ll be posting on christmas (Or more likely boxing day) with my thoughts of it!

And, though I promised myself I wouldn’t, I’ve become addicted to an MMORPG again. MapleStory. It’s a 2D sidescrolling MMORPG. It’s a very good one, as well, in my opinion.

Ah well, GUYWAG FOR ICONOCLASM!

-Mindez

I leave you with this.

Yay, I am free from School for a whole two weeks.

Oh the sleep I shall catch up on.

I had an.. interesting conversation today. I rang the game store, where I’m trying to get my Wii. It went something like this:

*rings up the game store again*
Me: “Oh, hi, I’m ringing to ask whether you have a Wii yet?”
Him: “Ah, just hold on a second.”
*sound of person putting hand over phone*
Him: “Jeff! It’s that guy again, asking about the Wii, what do I tell him?”

So, yeah. I think I am remembered. Hoorah! GUYWAG! And I was told to ring back tomorrow. I think I’m annoying them! =D

Anyway, other stuff.. I’m working through a book of Logic Puzzles, and I’ve got this month’s BBC’s Mind Games magazine. It’s a very good magazine. Highly recommended for people that like puzzles and stuff. Something for everyone. I’m going to take out a subscription.

As for anything else, nope. Nothing else.

But I leave you with this:

Yay, review time!

 This post contains spoilers about Doctor Who S01E02, starring William Hartnell, and stuff.

 CUT for spoilers.

First time I watched it, I had the following to say:

 

I thought this episode was awesome.  The first episode with daleks.  Thals and Dals, or something.  Though my one critique was that it was too long and drawn out.

I think they had at least 20 minutes worth of filler (Most of the episode of Ian and the Thals coming through the jungle, if I remember correctly), and the 7 episodes could have been compacted down to 6 easily, with no significant loss.  7 episode was a bit too much to hold my attention span, and I got fed up after about the 5th-6th-ish.

The Daleks were wonderful as always.

Oh, and Hartnell was awesome.  *nods*

 

And now, I have the following to say:

Well, that was awesome.  Much better than I thought originally.  I think it’s a case of paying more attention, my attention was mostly elsewhere on the first watch.

I originally stated that there was at least a full episodes worth of filler, but now on rewatching I see that everything that happened was totally necessary to keep the viewer interested.  I originally though “..What’s the point of the jumping-over-cliff scene”, and “What’s the point of the swamp scene”, but yes.  I now realise that they were totally required, for character development, and stuff.

Or, to put it another way, I’d be complaining a lot more if it had just been: 

Ian: Right!  Lets go thwack those Daleks, eh?  Lets go over the mountains!
*cut*
Ian: Right!  We’re here, now–Ooh look, neutron bomb!

So despite it probably being ‘filler’, I now realise that they ARE needed, not only as a transition between the two scenes, but also as Thal/Ian/Barbara character development.

The Daleks were.. not as Dalek-y as we have come to know them as.  But then, they always seem to suddenly lose the will to shoot whenever the Doctor walks in front of them, so that’s not a problem.  I’m just wondering.. why they didn’t kill Ian when they shot him?  He wasn’t required, surely the Daleks realised that they would only need one or two of them for whatever they needed them for.  But yes, this is nitpicking.

I felt there was also that underlying Dalek-rationalisation in their actions, as well.  

Doctor: That’s sheer murder!
Daleks: NO.  IT IS EX-TER-MIN-A-TION.”

Showing that the Daleks *know* what they’re doing, and they know that, in their belief, it is NOT wrong.  It is NOT murder, is it purification, extermination.  Murder, but murder that they have justified and rationalised.  The Dalek logic, at it’s best.

Brilliance.

I’ll give it 9/10.

 

Wow, I feel like my reviewing skills are getting much better!

Yes. This is the FOURTH time Mr Meacham has marked my homework/test wrong. -.-

So I say to you: I got 100%. No matter what he says.

ONE lesson to go before the end of school. And it’s Computing. Huzzah.

The results of my last Mechanics test are in, as well. 64/72. My rival got 40/72. I wish this counted, but it wasn’t in Computing, and we’re not officially rivals in Maths. Dang. Second highest mark in the class, the top one got 66/72 -.-

But oh, I shall beat him.

Apart from that: Had a boring physics lesson, HATE Mr Meacham, etc.

I hope my Computing teacher doesn’t come snooping around this blog. I sent him an email, so he has the ‘mindez’ bit. *hides*

Yes, anyway. This is a bit of a non-blog-entry. It’s a bit rambly. I’m hoping to write a nice article on ARGs and their attraction, tomorrow. Possibly.

I highly doubt I will.

(Also, apparently my Computing teacher was looking for me today. I hope it’s not anything bad e.E)

Safety in compliance, safety in DefenseCorp.

 

A REVIEW OF TORCHWOOD EPISODE 10 - OUT OF TIME. Spoilers abound, but I don’t know how to break the post (Which is unusual, normally I’m really good at breaking technical things) so..yeah.

Okay, well. I’ll be brief with this: I didn’t like it. My original just-after rating was 3.2/10. Lets see if I can talk myself into changing it.

It started alright - the idea of people being lost in time, falling through a hole into a world that they otherwise would never know, that is completely different from anything they’ve experienced before. Wanderers, lost in the fourth dimension. And Torchwood were the only people that know of how they could possibly have fallen. And I think that the whole “lost in time” theme is a strong theme, if explored well. It was explored in this episode, but.. not well enough. It was certainly explored ENOUGH (Practically every scene had “omg we have nothing left!” and “omg it’s so NEW!”, but.. that was seemingly all there was to the episode.

It didn’t ‘pick up pace’ towards the end, or seem to get any stronger, as far as I could see, except in one case.

So, now to focus on the characters.

John - The business man, who’s lost everything. His name is all he’s got left, and he doesn’t want to give it up. He seems to want to keep the three lost people together, not to get mingled with the ‘new’ world. The prospect of the new world is too overpowering, and drives him crazy. He doesn’t want to live with nothing left. And his resolve not to gets the better of him. His storyline was, in my opinion, by *FAR* the strongest of the three.

Diane - ..Seemed to me just to be an excuse to insert random rompings into the episode. Her storyline followed a more passionate approach. As I have commented on Tamino Badwolf, it seems that you would have had to have experienced something like this in order to be absorbed by this. I haven’t, and so I wasn’t. Weakest of the three.

Other person - Seemed to not be doing much, actually. Besides having trouble adjusting, she seemed to have been inserted into the plot just to create Gwen/Rhys argument.

I think that combining the three ideas together only made it a bit messy. It would have been better, in my opinion, to just concentrate for longer on John’s storyline, which I found the most compelling. As I say, some people’s opinions may differ. It could be the boring non-emotional logical robotic personality of me that watched this, but I wasn’t remotely interested in Diane’s or TheOtherPerson’s storylines.

And finally, I will re-rate this episode. I’ll rate it at a 5.6/10. Decent, could be much much better, not my preferred choice of viewing on a Sunday evening. But at least the rating is higher.

Gah, sorry for not posting today. Or being online at all. My ISP broke. So I lost my internets, damned internet pixies hiding them. BUT I found them all again, so it’s alright.

So, short blog as I must get to sleep. Think of it as a trailer.

A trailer to what, you may ask. And you may well get answers. A trailer to my next blog post, to be made at around 13:30 tomorrow.

And what shall be in this blog?*

- Me!
- A review of Torchwood episode 10!
- Bitching and ranting about christmas!
- My Computing teacher’s reaction to me having finished the next 3 months of homework in under 2 hours!
- More bitching and ranting about how much I hate free periods at my college!
- Whatever else I can think of to write about!

*gasp* Coming to a browser near you, VERY soon!

-Mindez

 

*Disclaimer: Mindez is not in any way responsible for the lack of any of these contents from the upcoming blog post.

Wow at the number of comments I received yesterday. I’m sure it was a fluke, rather than people ACTUALLY liking me, but still. THANKS TO YOU ALL!

Hoorah.

Today, I watched “An Unearthly Child”, the first ever Doctor Who story. (*cough* http://vids.tamino.co.uk/eps/001.php *cough*).

Anyway, apart from doing that (And watching Doctor Who for almost 2 hours straight), I’ve not done much today. Oh, except I did my Computing homework yesterday, and when I say “did my Computing homework”, I mean “did every single Computing homework for the next 3 months”. In the space of an hour and a half. And it was surprisingly fun. I love algorithms.

Still, that’s going to cause me a lot of boredom over the next three months. Only 3 days (Or 6 lessons) left until the end of school for the year! 2 Computing, 1 Further Maths, 2 Electronics, and 1 Physics.

Also, one of my Electronics/Physics teachers sucks. I’m not going to mention Mr Meacham’s name here, but he really sucks. Our electronics lesson is going to go on for the full time on Tuesday, even though EVERY SINGLE other class finishes at 3:30 on Tuesday. But nooo, he’s MAKING us stay in until 4:30. Agh. I hate him. And he always -ALWAYS- marks my homework wrong. And then when I point this out, just says “..I can’t be bothered with this now.” and “Why do you do this to me?” - Well, maybe I have to do it to you BECAUSE YOU MARK MY HOMEWORK WRONG.

*sighs*

Anyway, I could rant on all day about Mr. Meacham whom I shall not name. And I don’t actually hold it against him for making us stay in on Tuesday, but I -DO- hold it against him for having taught us exactly the same thing every single lesson since the beginning of term, and marking my homework wrong. (I have him for one Electronics and one Physics a week. My other Electronics/Physics teacher is awesome, though.)

The Hogfather is on TV tomorrow. I can’t wait to watch it. Also Torchwood episode 10. Also Codex. Also Lost.

Wow, that’s a lot of things on TV tomorrow. and my Sky+ can only record Torchwood, because anything recorded on Channel 4 or Sky One (Or the Sci-Fi Channel, but there’s nothing good on that tomorrow) completely borks up, and keeps skipping, doesn’t play audio, etc. It’s terrible.

 

Comments plx.

-Mindez