When hatred is all you've got

The gorgeous, and Jewish, Scarlett Johansson has a new film out by the name of Under The Skin, the trailer is below. It looks like a rather cerebral sci-fi film with some gratuitous Scarlett Johansson nudity, so right up my street.



Of course the hate-filled just had to let rip in YouTube comments:

 There's some really delightful people out there.

The Day of the Doctor - As live blogging, albeit a few days later on a second watch - One for the Doctor Who obsessives only!

Nice retro titles - very original series
76 Totter's Lane and the Coal Hill School with I. Chesterton as Chairman of the Governors - lovely nod back to the original series
Shouldn't the Doctor be able to escape from a winch?
Why does Matt Smith keep leaving the Tardis doors open, previous Doctors were very careful to always shut that door.
Love Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewwart's granddaughter's choice of scarf, very Fourth Doctor.
Why are the Time Lords fighting massive Dalek spacecraft with hand held weapons, do they not have anything more powerful?
If the Daleks are strafing Gallifrey why are Daleks also on the ground, that is very poor air/ground force cooperation.
What is a 'sky trench'?
The Omega Arsenal in the Time Vaults? Sounds portentous.
'The Moment' is gone, 'The Galaxy Eater' with a 'sentinent operating system', so more intelligent than Windows 8...
Billie Piper with a similar performance to  Idris/Suranne Jones
"Stuck between a girl and a box, story of your life"
If "every moment in time and space is burning" during the 'Time Wars', how come nobody elsewhere in the Universe is ever aware of the Time Wars or their effects?
Windows on The Doctor's future, a little Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future?
The Doctor was appointed 'Curator of the Under Gallery' by Queen Elizabeth 1, that explains her comment in The Shakespeare Code
Stacey/Joanna Page is Queen Elizabeth, was the Queen Welsh? Impressive decolletage nonetheless.
A 'machine that goes ding', how Monty Python - Meaning of Life
The Doctor should not kiss the ladies, or men (Captain Jack included)
Nice scene with the rabbit, most amusing - David Tennant does light and shade very well.
Small penis gag between the Doctors, "compensating.. regeneration is a lottery"
"Reverse the polarity"...
"Timey wimey" good to take the piss out of that phrase
The Black Archive and Men In Black brain wiping technology
Captain Jack's Vortex manipulator, sqweee. But an anti-American film dig.
Nice human to zygon transformation scene
And messages between periods of history was clever
I like the Sonic Screwdriver subroutine cleverness and the way it's shown to be over the top by Clara.
The man who regrets and the man who forgets - nice...
Not the old copies need to keep the originlas alive routine... how original and convenient
So the zygns home planet burnt in the first days of the Time Wars so they need a new plant but if "every moment in time and space is burning" during the Time Wars, how come they escaped and how come Earth wasn't similarly affected?
I see the Doctor's mobile number is still 07700 900461, just as in 
Kissing in the future...
Back To The Future name checked (Are they trying to link to as many other SciFi programmes as possible?)
"You've let this place go a bit" - 10th Doctor's (David Tennant) control room
"The round things" return, how 1970s and 1980s
And back to the 11th Doctor's (Matt Smith) Doctor
A Doctor Who pinboard - From left to right - Tegan, Nyssa, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Kamelion
A bit of Timey Wimey within the programme
All three Doctors in the slice of time 'picture' but that's not what happened...!
Nice 10th and 11th Doctor synchronisation
Why aren't the three Doctors memories wiped by that device?
More on the pinboard - Susan and various others from First and Second Doctor that I don't recognise straight off... I started with Third Doctor.
Love the big red button... Rather flower like
Two iterations of the same Tardis in the same place and time, surely that would rip a hole in the fabric of time and space... Although this is Gallifrey  so if it's possible anywhere it would be there
The warrior, the hero and ... a doctor
"Never give up, never give in" - Bizarrely on Sunday I heard that as Galaxy Quest's "Never give up, never surrender" I was wrong...
Clever crossfire idea, how original

Frozen in time, spotted that a while back as a concept.
How did John Hurt's Doctor get back to his Tardis so quickly?
Quick spot of John Hurt's Doctor, need to see more...
Time Lords frozen in a single moment, so they could come back in the future?
All the Doctors including 13 - Peter Capaldi's eyes
The latest Doctor is in charge of the rest at the end, was that the same in The Five Doctors? I sense a re-watch.
When the 13 Tardis's surround Gallifrey, where are the Dalek spacecraft? Not a sign of them? If they were there, couldn't the Tardis's have been hit. They have to be there for the crossfire plan to work...
Inside of National Gallery has very Tardis like hexagonal roundels on the wall.
Is John Hurt now part of the history of The Doctors? If so is a re-numbering of Eccleston, Tennant, Smith and Capaldi in order?
John Hurt's almost last words "Wearing a bit thin" wasn't that  also William Hartnell's?
Nice ears gag bearing in mind who he regenerates into, Christopher Eccleston
That last shot of the regeneration, does it have an Eccleston'ish right eye or is that my imagination?
Trenselor...
"I don't want to go" the last words of David Tennant as he goes into his Tardis and also the last words before he regenerated into Matt Smith. "He always says that" Nice line...
Just realised that there were three iterations of the same Doctor and three iterations of the same Tardis in the national Gallery and nothing happened, is The National Gallery actually Gallifrey?
Old man looking for you, "The Curator"... "I could be a Curator.. I could retire and do that"...
"You know, I really think you might" and there is Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, older but still magnificent, certainly an 'old favourite' of mine
No offer of jelly babies
"Oh you have a lot to do"... Looking for Gallifrey
"WHO knows" Doctor Who knows?!
Matt Smith's end of episode voiceovers are rather good, I love his voice.
"I have a new destination... I know where I'm going, where I've always been going, home - the long way round" and a great line-up of Doctors, including John Hurt.

First Doctor/William Hartnell by himself and then alternating inwards from left to right:
L1: Second Doctor/Patrick Troughton
R1: Third Doctor/Jon Pertwee
L2: Fourth Doctor/Tom Baker
R2: Fifth Doctor/Peter Davison
L3: Sixth Doctor/Colin Baker
R3: Seventh Doctor/Sylvester McCoy
L4: Eighth Doctor/Paul McGann
R4: Ninth Doctor/Christopher Eccleston
L5: ? Doctor/John Hurt
R5: Tenth Doctor/David Tennant
Centre: Eleventh Doctor/Matt Smith

But that's not correct anymore, John Hurt was a regeneration between the Eighth and Ninth Doctor, so that makes: 
L4: Eighth Doctor/Paul McGann
R4: Tenth Doctor/Christopher Eccleston
L5: Ninth Doctor/John Hurt
R5: Eleventh Doctor/David Tennant
Centre: Twelfth Doctor/Matt Smith

And that presents a whole new issue as Time Lords are meant to only have 11 regenerations which means they are all used up, so how does the Twelfth Doctor/Matt Smith  regenerate into the Thirteenth Doctor/Peter Capaldi? I suppose we'll find out at Christmas... This War Doctor idea just doesn't wash, John Hurt is not Paul McGann nor is he Christopher Eccleston - I demand a proper explanation!

The Credits show "The Doctor" in reverse order with John Hurt between Christopher Eccleston and Paul McGann, so... Am I obsessing a bit much?

The credits also show Billie Piper as 'Rose', surely she was The Moment's operating system projecting as a conscience?

No mention of The Curator in the credits.

All the Doctor's faces in turn, as in the credits.... Yes I know I should get a life! Or 12! Or 13!

Doctor Who - The Day of the Doctor (post 1)

I watched this Doctor Who special episode yesterday and enjoyed many parts of it but found others to be overblown and maybe a little silly!

One line especially jarred with me, "Never give-up, never surrender" - that's from the wonderful sci-fi film Galaxy Quest (the wrong franchise)...

'The Day of the Doctor' is coming #SaveTheDay

Roll on Saturday 23rd November

Meanwhile this clip has been leaked, 'Elizabeth's Credentials' - whatever that means

Is the female scientist wearing the Fourth Doctor's scarf?

For completeness, here's the earlier released trailer



And here's Emergency Awesome analysing the 50th anniversary episode poster...

So until the new Doctor Who 50th Anniversary trailer airs on 15th November at 19:30 on BBC1...

Doctor Who - 'The Girl Who Waited' - The previews

So much for the previews, now for the programme with lots of Amy Pond and some proper scifi....

Bank Holiday Monday evening catchup

My Firefox crashed yesterday, taking 30+ tabs with it but even so I have more open then I can ever blog about in the coming week;

1) AFP report on the murderous Syrian regime:

'Pro-democracy activists in Syria called for fresh protests on Saturday after the alleged torture and killing of a 13-year-old boy by security forces in the flashpoint region of Daraa.

The body of Hamza al-Khatib was returned to his family on Wednesday, following his disappearance after a demonstration on April 29, activists said on their Facebook site, Syrian Revolution 2011.

"We will go out from every home, from every district to express our anger" over the killing, they wrote on the page which carries a picture of the boy.

"A month had passed by with his family not knowing where he is, or if or when will he be released. He was released to his family as a dead body. Upon examining his body, the signs of torture are very clear," they said.

"There were a few bullets in his body used as a way of torture rather than to kill him with. Clear signs of severe physical abuse appeared on the body such as marks done with hands, sticks, and shoes. Hamza?s penis was also cut off."'

I await the protests from the leftist elements who would be up in (metaphorical) arms had this been Israel at fault; I think I will wait in vain.


2) The Telegraph and The Mail have the photographic proof that Samantha Cameron is fit; in both senses of the word.


3) Mary Sean Young has some fascinating Polaroids from the set of Bladerunner, here's one...

Rachael and Deckard together...


4) The Telegraph report on what happens when occupational health departments need to ensure they generate work to keep them employed:

'...modern day police officers are being issued with "lifestyle guides", suggesting bedtime routines and healthy eating options.

Among the pearls of wisdom offered in the documents are that officers should assist their spouses with household chores and do activities such as gardening and dancing to keep fit.

The guides even offer advice on what fillings officers should have in their sandwiches. '

5) ZeroHedge think that DeSpiegel are taking a risk of being sued by Greece:

'Germany's Der Spiegel seems hell bent on getting sued to hell and back by Greece. After a few weeks ago it "broke" the news of a secret meeting that would consider the expulsion of the country from the Eurozone, it is once again stirring passions with an article claiming that Greece has missed all fiscal targets agreed under its bailout plan, according to a mission from an international inspection team, putting further funding for Athens at risk, Reuters summarizes. "The troika (aka the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank) asserts in its report to be presented next week that Greece had missed all its agreed fiscal targets," weekly Spiegel magazine reported in a prerelease. In other words, this could be the political game over for Greece, whose fate as has been disclosed recently, is intimately tied with the perception that it is following the troika's demands for fiscal change. If the three key bailout institutions are already leaking that Greece is done, next week could well be the beginning of the end for the €.'

Is that true, is the Eurozone about to fall apart as Greece fails to meet its targets? Does this mean that David Cameron will stop promising money to ailing EuroZone countries? Does this mean that those people who called for the UK to join the Euro will now admit their mistakes and that William Hague, John Redmond amongst others were right when they were being ridiculed for being 'little Englanders' and out of step with history?


6) Brian Lee Crowley in The Financial Post examines the premise behind the question “Are we running out of natural resources?” and explains why we are not. A good explanation that should be required reading for all eco-loons. Here's the conclusion:

'We are nowhere near to running out of natural resources. Human creativity and financial resources together will ensure a continued supply of all the resources we need. The exact form those resources will take cannot be known today, however. It relies on future innovations, which are, by their nature, unpredictable because they will be the fruit of our imagination and curiosity. That is why the human mind is the greatest natural resource of all.'

7) WireUpdate has some bad news for many visitors to Amsterdam:

'In an effort to stop drug tourism, the Dutch government on Friday decided to restrict access to cannabis coffee shops so that tourists will no longer be able to buy the drugs.

Coffee shops are establishments in the Netherlands where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities. As this is illegal in most countries, many tourists from around the world travel to Amsterdam to use cannabis.

But in an effort to reduce criminal behavior and tourism as a result of the drug policy, the Dutch government on Friday decided to introduce a membership system for coffee shops. The city of Amsterdam, where most tourists go, is against the decision

The new system will require members of coffee shops to be a citizen of the Netherlands and over the age of 18.'

This will not help the Amsterdam tourist industry and might make the drug-pushers in the Red Light district even more insistent...


8) The Other McCain has all you need to know about 'Weinergate', actually make that more than you probably want to know about New York Democrat Rep. Anthony Weiner's penis, BlackBerry


9) Noel Sheppard at NewsBusters wonders whether 'Hatred Towards Conservative Women is Last Acceptable Misogyny in U.S.'. here's an extract:

'Of course, Tantaros was correct.

What America has painfully learned since former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was first announced as John McCain's running mate in 2008 is that it is completely acceptable for media members to mercilessly attack a woman in print or on television and radio if she is a conservative.

In reality, not only is it condoned, it's applauded.

You can even win awards for doing so - just ask Katie Couric.

Sadder still is that the Left is constantly carping and whining about the scarcity of women in politics.

Maybe if they wouldn't attack every conservative female that deigns to enter public life there'd be more of them - or is that just too darned logical for a liberal?'

10) BizyBlog claims 'AP Reporters Fabricate Scurrilous ‘Possible’ Reason Why Walesa Wouldn’t Meet With Obama'. It's an interesting theory and one that should chime with anyone who realises quite how biased most of the world's media is in favour of Barack Obama. Investors Business Daily has the more plausible explanation:

' Someone who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for actually doing something just snubbed someone who won it for nothing. But Lech Walesa’s refusal to meet President Obama is also a cry to save Poland.

Lech Walesa, the former Polish president and heroic leader of the Solidarity trade union that helped liberate the entire Eastern European Soviet bloc from communist rule, has his moral courage indelibly engraved in the history books.

… on Friday, Walesa once again answered the call to duty and announced he would not accept fellow Nobel Peace laureate President Obama’s invitation to meet with him in Poland after the G-8 Summit in France.

… Close observers of this president for the two-plus years of his rule know he isn’t interested in listening to the likes of Walesa, any more than he wants to hear the leaders of former Soviet satellite states explain how the low, flat tax rates they adopted in recent years led their nations to double-digit GDP growth.

For the sake of preserving Poland’s hard-fought freedom, Komorowski and Tusk should be joining Walesa in giving Obama the cold shoulder.

The president hadn’t even had a chance to redecorate the Oval Office before he felt the need, in fall of 2009, to appease Moscow by scrapping plans to build a missile defense shield protecting Poland and the Czech Republic from attack by Russia, Iran or any other aggressor.

At the time, the Polish minister of defense said, “This is catastrophic for Poland.”

The message, once again, delivered loud and clear to America’s friends, allies and enemies alike, is that the U.S. can’t be relied on.

… The message Poland’s leaders should deliver to our self-satisfied president is the one Walesa is delivering by his absence: Neither your Nobel nor bin Laden’s head, Mr. President, is a substitute for U.S. help in keeping a liberated Eastern Europe liberated.'

That has cleared ten tabs, only another 20 or so to go!

Skynet

April 19, 2011, at 20:11 Skynet is meant to have gone live; just saying...

Time travel or something else?

What is this woman doing if not using a mobile phone in 1928. This footage is from a backstage film for the launch of the Charlie Chaplin film 'The Circus' .

Of course there is a vital point to be made here; if the woman is using a mobile telephone in 1928 could someone explain how, as the transmitter/receiver cell masts she could use wouldn't have existed for another 60 years.

So a cell phone seems somewhat unlikely but maybe a more futuristsic piece of communications technology? Is this perhaps the first glimpse of the 12th Doctor?

Now I like Ray Bradbury but not that much... (NSFW)

'F**k me Ray Bradbury' - Rachel Bloom from the Upright Citizens Brigade.

"Something wicked this way will come..."



And here is Rachel Bloom in Cheaters; because we all have different areas of speciality...

CHEATERS	UCBcomedy.com
Watch more comedy videos from the twisted minds of the UCB Theatre at UCBcomedy.com

Thanks to Boing Boing for the spot.

"Whatever they offer you, don't feed the plants"

I am a big fan of Little Shop of Horrors, I loved the West End musical and the film is regularly watched in this house. So I was surprised to find that the original film ending was not the happy life in the suburbs one that I like the kitschness of but a much darker one. Thanks to You Tube here is that original ending in three parts...


Audrey dies and asks to be sacrificed to Audrey II so she can be 'somewhere green' and help Seymour to be successful. The sacrifice scene is rather reminiscent of athe scene following Frankenfurters death in the Rocky Horror Picture Show






The Audrey IIs take over the Earth so beware and "Whatever they offer you, don't feed the plants"


So which ending do I prefer? The original is closer to the spirit of the stage musical which I seem to remember had the faces of Audrey II's victims as flowers and does show that crime and greed do not pay. But I do like the happy ending as well!

Don't forget your towel today

"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with. "

Today is International Towel Day.





If this post makes no sense to you then I suggest a visit to ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha which is the Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Appreciation Society. As well as a visit to Amazon to buy Douglas Adams' trilogy in five parts.