Doctor Who as Logan...

Forgot to mention my delight that on the Comic Relief sketch David Tennant did, he was called Mr. Logan. I think this brings my list of favourite fandoms with people named Logan to... four? Wolverine in X-Men, Logan Echolls in Veronica Mars, Bridgitte Logan in the Greg Rucka novels, unless I'm forgetting someone.

My little bird Logan was pleased as well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

I tend to think of my heritage as half Scots and half English, which is nonsense. My father was born in England, in Leicester, so that's legitimate enough. My mother was a mix of Scots and Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch and other typically Canadian odds and ends going back to a man who came from Ballymacheramerie, County Down. And the really good family legends came from the Irish side of the family. (Such as the assertion that one of my ancestors was a changeling.)

So. I'm part Irish. But I'm about as certain as it's possible to be that my Irish ancestors were Protestants, since I've never met a more long-time-Protestant family than my own. None of this St. Patrick business for them... But at least I know there were Protestant changelings.

And personally I have a bit of a grudge against St. Patrick, because he chased the snakes out of Ireland. I like snakes. I like snakes a lot. What'd he go and do that for?

Yes, yes, I know all about the snake and the dragon as being symbols of evil. I really don't have to approve of that sort of thing.

Doesn't mean I can't enjoy the day anyway. I like the widespread popularity of a medieval saint. At least he wasn't a virgin martyr.

Housework...

The problem is, I don't like housework, but every once in a while it has to be done. I usually manage to keep the dishes washed and the bed made, but beyond that.... Generally speaking, I'd rather be reading or writing. At the same time, I hate living in a messy or unclean apartment. Can't afford a maid or a slave, and my budgie housemate, I'm afraid, exerts himself to throw birdseed on the carpet on a fairly constant basis, and refuses to vacuum it up.

Today I tried a new strategy. I gave myself fifteen minutes per room - bathroom, kitchen, living room, and bedroom. With a timer. (Thinking of it as a metaphorical stopwatch cheered me up no end.) And when the buzzer rang, I stopped cleaning the room I was in, and moved to the next one - with allowances for the most basic finishing of whatever I was in the middle of at the time.

Racing myself made it rather fun. The kitchen still needs more work but it's more livable than it was. The living room looks terrific. Well, my desk area is a bit of a wreck, but the rest is terrific.

It's fun when a new approach works out.

I did the whole thing to the accompaniment of John Barrowman music, played loudly.

(no subject)

Got this from spherissa:

1) What fabric do you consider the most practical to wear?

Cotton. I love cotton. I find polyester unpalatable and I'm allergic to wool. Cotton is the best of the best.

2) If you had to choose just one author to read for the rest of your life, who would you pick?

Dorothy Dunnett. What an utterly easy question.

3) What animal makes the best stuffed toy?

The panda.

4) Pick your poison: tea, coffee, or alcohol?

Earl Grey Tea. Hot, with milk.

5) What would you give up for your dream vacation?

Give up? I'd give up the only thing one ever has to give up for dream vacations - money, and lots of it.

~ ~ ~
[The next bit, I copy straight from spherissa] Want to play?

1. Leave me a comment saying, "I too am an egomaniac."
2. I respond by asking you five question. You will answer them, because you like talking about yourself.
3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Torchwood: watching it over again...

Over the past few days I have watched three episodes of Torchwood with maaseru and maaboroshi.

We often watch things together, but they are not enchanted with Doctor Who, as I am. And I was not into Stargate SG-1, their last fandom. So Torchwood wasn't much of a draw for them, and goodness knows, I wouldn't press any fandom on anyone. If I try too hard to watch someone else's fandom when I'm not really enjoying it, I end up hating it. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

I'd showed them "Captain Jack Harkness" because I knew they'd like it, and they did. Then they wanted to finish off the story with "End of Days". I didn't think they were in the least interested in seeing any more. Fair enough.

Then some time later I had, in an unguarded moment, said something to maaseru about Captain Jack and the Doctor's hand, and she found this fannish theme - amusing? interesting? fascinating in its impossible perversity? I'm sure my attempts to explain it just made things worse. She wanted to see 'the episode with the hand' so I showed her "Day One".

So far so good. maaseru and maaboroshi were impressed by the graphic sex. What, hadn't I explained adequately about what Torchwood was like? I guess not! They rather casually said they'd like to see another, so we watched "Cyberwoman", mostly just because I like it so much and they gave me the choice of episode. Tonight they wanted another, so we watched "Everything Changes". Yes, they are seeing the episodes completely out of order.

And I'm having a wonderful time seeing series one again. I'm hoping they'll want to see more.