Bubble tea...

[fajrdrako]

I hadn't seen Alayne for ages, but we met this evening for a drink of bubble tea (which I love) at Bubblicity on Somerset Ave. We had a chance to talk, and for her to pass over to me the treasured advance copy of The Sharing Knife by Lois McMaster Bujold that is going from hand to eager hand.

Choosing a favour of bubble tea was difficult. There are dozens of flavours on the menu. I have never had a bubble tea I didn't like; I always like to try new things; I don't necessarily remember all the flavours I have had before. I was trying to find something with real fannish resonance. No satsuma flavour was offered. I finally opted for strawberry-banana, because the Doctor recommends bananas in "The Doctor Dances" - "good source of potassium" - and Alayne said there are strawberry references in "The Sharing Knife".

Comments

[widget-alley.livejournal.com]

"Well, I've got a banana and in a pinch you could put up some shelves..."

I so needed a sonic screwdriver at work today. I had the crappiest pair of pliers in the world; so useless I literally ended up beating the metal I was manipulating back into shape with the pathetic weight of them, since they couldn't grip for anything. (Hey, is the sonic screwdriver a mixed drink yet? If not, it should be... and I'm going to need one of those at work tomorrow. It's tax-free back-to-school weekend in my state, but only on certain items, and it's gonna be madness. I'm thinking the traditional screwdriver-- vodka, orange juice... but with something else. Something banana-y?)

[wijsgeer.livejournal.com]

It has got its own wikipedia entry, but there is no mention of drinks in it

wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_screwdriver)

also found:


Sonic Screwdriver
Vodka, orange juice, Rice Krispies (http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/cusfs/drinks.html)

it doesn't appeal to me

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Rice krispies in a drink - eeuu! No, I don't think so!

Travesty.

It should at least be something good!

I listened to the .wav of the sonic screwdriver sound that the wiki article links to. Heh. Lucky thing I'm alone in the office right now.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

"Well, I've got a banana and in a pinch you could put up some shelves..."

Heh. Love that man.

I so needed a sonic screwdriver at work today.

Such a handy item! I was looking for one on eBay, and they sell them, in pen form. The blue light is the important part, of course, but that seemed like a letdown to me. I'd want it to at least actually be able to screw something.

Hey, is the sonic screwdriver a mixed drink yet? If not, it should be... I'm thinking the traditional screwdriver-- vodka, orange juice... but with something else. Something banana-y?)

I think this calls for experimental analysis. A normal screwdriver with a banana in it sounds about right.

[widget-alley.livejournal.com]

Something about Jack's dialogue reminds me of really well-written fanfiction, somehow. It's like he has a sonic screwdriver directly connected to your brain, and everything he says is exactly what you would have wanted him to say, as a fan of the show, if you'd thought about it. Oh, I don't know, it's hard to explain. But yes, I love him, too... can't wait for Torchwood.

Pen? Not bad. Upon reading the Wikipedia entry I learned they replaced the old sonic screwdriver prop, which kept falling apart, with one of the pens, because it looked the same and was sturdier. I thought it looked a bit larger in the new series, but I thought maybe Tennant's hands (...) were smaller.

I think this calls for experimental analysis. A normal screwdriver with a banana in it sounds about right.

*considers throwing a Doctor Who party for all her friends* Banana and.... something else. Too bad satsumas don't juice particularly well. (He's so right about the satsuma. The last thing I have found under the tree for the last five years running has been an orange. Why does that happen? Do they spontaneously generate or what?)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It's like he has a sonic screwdriver directly connected to your brain, and everything he says is exactly what you would have wanted him to say, as a fan of the show, if you'd thought about it.

Yes! Except for the line he doesn't say, when he's scorning the Doctor's sonic screwdriver as a weapon. I really expected or wanted him to say "What are you going to do, screw them to death?" - but he didn't, probably because the writers are always conscious of the eight-year-old contingent in the audience. Pity.

I learned they replaced the old sonic screwdriver prop, which kept falling apart, with one of the pens, because it looked the same and was sturdier.

So - maybe I should get one, after all!

(He's so right about the satsuma. The last thing I have found under the tree for the last five years running has been an orange.

In these parts, it's a clementine. Same difference.

Why does that happen? Do they spontaneously generate or what?)

Yes, but only at the end of December, and only in stockings and under trees. Perhaps that was why Christmas was invented - to get rid of excess fruit.

[widget-alley.livejournal.com]

I really expected or wanted him to say "What are you going to do, screw them to death?" - but he didn't, probably because the writers are always conscious of the eight-year-old contingent in the audience. Pity.

Hahahahah! That never even occured to me. I knew a tiny bit about the Doctor's history as a character going in, so I was expecting completely platonic relationships only and very much a, "Think of the children!" attitude. Which is why I was all, "*choke cough snerk hack hack cackle*" about the, "Doesn't the universe implode or something if you.... dance?" "We-ll..." business. I think I stared at the screen for about ten seconds before absolutely cracking up.

So - maybe I should get one, after all!

Doctor Who-related items of dorky pride are always a good thing. I love my TARDIS pin.

In these parts, it's a clementine. Same difference.

Oddly enough we don't have clementines around here at Christmas time-- they usually come in right after, in early January. We do have oranges, though, so that's what I get. If there were clementines, I'm sure it'd be one of them.

Perhaps that was why Christmas was invented - to get rid of excess fruit.

*grins* Insert your own Captain Jack joke here.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I knew a tiny bit about the Doctor's history as a character going in, so I was expecting completely platonic relationships only and very much a, "Think of the children!" attitude.

I think everyone was expecting that. Which is why it was so surprising to discover all the other levels to the show.

"Doesn't the universe implode or something if you.... dance?"

Wonderful line.

Doctor Who-related items of dorky pride are always a good thing.

I looked up prices on eBay. It's all from the UK and that means high mailing costs, but the items aren't bad i price and... how much can it cost to mail a screwdriver? (Am I talking myself into getting one?)

Insert your own Captain Jack joke here.

Egad, he's just too perfect!

[widget-alley.livejournal.com]

I think everyone was expecting that. Which is why it was so surprising to discover all the other levels to the show.

And oh-so-much more satisfying because of it. (Have I mentioned how much I love Reinette? She's lovely. I expected to hate her, as one usually does, but ended up wishing we'd see more of her. I love the Doctor's dorky, fanboi reaction after she kisses him. "NO WAI!" "YA WAI!")

Although, to be fair, the monsters are rarely that scary, but I think that may have more to do with budget than the children ('cept for the gas-mask zombies. Now that was creepy. Why are gas masks so inherently terrifying-- the shape of them, not just the idea they represent?)

Wonderful line.

Oddly enough, I think my favorite line from that whole scene is the swift, bitten, "Problem?" It's so clearly a challenge, but whether he's challenging her to say, semi-untruthfully, she doesn't have a problem with it, or whether he's challenging her to admit that, yeah, she sort of does have a problem with that, I can't tell. I think even he doesn't know. Either way she sidesteps it nicely. I also love how the whole scene flips back and forth between them and Nancy cutting the barbed wire. Nice parallel.

Am I talking myself into getting one?

Yes. And I'm assisting. Imagine being able to whip that sucker out at... well, cons and board meetings, for a start. You could judge your server's awesomeness quotient by whether they recognize it when you sign the check.

Egad, he's just too perfect!

Over the end of one of the credit sequences in my Doctor Whos there's a female BBC announcer who says, "And you can tune in to Channel Three, where John Barrowman, who played Captain Jack, will be reading a bedtime story every night this week." Hee. I'll bet he is.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I mentioned how much I love Reinette?

I love Reinette too. You'd expect her to either be unworthy of the Doctor, or some sort of nasty bitch in contrast to Rose, but instead she's absolutely lovely, intelligent and brave - you can see why the Doctor is smitten, and you can see that she sees what he is in terms of quality and power, even if she doesn't understand it all. She's wonderful. So you grieve with the Doctor when he loses her, in spite of yourself.

And what I love even more is that Rose accepts, and waits - five hours or a lifetime (whichever is shorter), she waits. And doesn't deal with it with self-pity, or condemnation. Heroic!

I love the Doctor's dorky, fanboi reaction after she kisses him.

So very adorable.

'cept for the gas-mask zombies. Now that was creepy.

The creepiest. Perhaps because the gas mask is an ugly mask that appears to strip away humanity? Perhaps because it looks somewhat insectoid? Brilliant TV-contruction, though, to make something so conceptually simple appear so unnerving.

It's so clearly a challenge, but whether he's challenging her to say, semi-untruthfully, she doesn't have a problem with it, or whether he's challenging her to admit that, yeah, she sort of does have a problem with that, I can't tell.

I think he's challenging her to think - a little self-quesitoning, regardless of which way it goes. Nudging her to awareness rather than assumptions that may be misleading. A sort of Zen reality-check.

You could judge your server's awesomeness quotient by whether they recognize it when you sign the check.

That would be fun.

John Barrowman, who played Captain Jack, will be reading a bedtime story every night this week.

Now... how many of my favourite fantasies does that tap into?

[tavella.livejournal.com]

We had a chance to talk, and for her to pass over to me the treasured advance copy of The Sharing Knife by Lois McMaster Bujold that is going from hand to eager hand.

Dying of jealousy over here!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Pretty exciting, I must say. And in this case, I really don't know what to expect. Alayne said the book was 'different'. Now, what does that mean?