The Kebab & Calculator

[winston @winston]

@dentarthurdent  and @janetteb   We had a very hot day with temps. of 28C  but with a humidex of 40C today but it is predicted to return to “normal” temps tomorrow. The problem here has been loud and flashy thunder and lighting storms with huge amounts of garden crashing rain and even some hail. I usually sit on our dock on the creek and feed the turtles and fish but today it is under water. I doubt we will flood too badly  here because we were having a drought and the water levels were very low in the first place.

While I sat there last night a family of 4 river otters ( a mom and 3 kits) swam by but stopped and watched us for awhile. They are very curious critters.  We also saw a young black bear today sitting in the middle of the road, probably to escape the heat and the bitey bugs.

I have lived in the same house on the same creek for 40 years and no-one can tell me that the climate is not changing and that even our winters have become warmer. And no-one can tell me that all wildlife is affected by this and the drastic loss of wild habitat and wetlands. That is one advantage ( a sad one) of staying in one place for so long.

I hope the weather treats you all a little kinder and that Janettes summer is not too hot! It is miserable to wear a mask in such hot weather. We both get our 2nd dose of vaccine tomorrow so I think I am over excited and typing far too much so………

Stay safe.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@winston You must be truly rural if you get otters, I think.

Otters are cute. It’s odd – slinky little animals (like, say, rats) are anything but cute (usually). But make them a little bigger, put big tails on them, and they become cute (though I doubt if their food would agree 🙂 Make them even bigger and you get capybaras, which look dumb, dorky and benign. Okay, I’ve just realised otters aren’t rodents, they’re mustelids. My mistake.

Not too sure about the bears. One of the great things about New Zealand is being able to walk in the bush, barefoot even, and the worst thing that’s ever likely to attack you is a yellow wasp. There are reputed to be wild pigs in the more remote parts of the country. And of course cows, but not in the bush. The biggest hazard in the bush is just getting lost or falling off a cliff, or, I suppose, tripping and breaking your ankle.

The weather, being Auckland, is all over the map. Today’s forecast was for really heavy rain, clearing late in the day. Well it was all over by 9a.m., which was just as well for the guys from the power company who came to trim our trees (under their 110kV lines). Sunshine, even, by mid-day. That’s typical Auckland weather for you.

Just got a text to book for Mrs D’s second Covid jab, which I reserved online for September 7th. I expect they’ll ‘fit me in’ at the same time, as they did with the first jab. Actually this carries a lot less emotional weight here, mostly protected by our quarantine wall, than it does in most countries. It’s more a ‘nice to have’ than a desperately needed shot. Our vaccine distribution is quite a slow process since NZ’s place in the vaccine queue is fairly low, for good reasons.

[janetteB @janetteb]

@winston our houseguest/tenant loves otters. His girlfriend gave him a World Wildlife Fund River Otter adaption for his birthday last year. He has the certificate on display in our living area. I don’t know however if he has ever actually seen a river otter. Your home sounds heavenly but you will have seen a lot of changes over forty years. My partner found temperature records for our local area and graphed all the days over forty for the past 100 years. There has been a dramatic escalation in recent years. We have a friend who is a passionate gardener but denies that GW is even a thing. I simply don’t understand how.

& @dentarthurdent I love bears. I was very disappointed at not seeing a bear in the wild when we were in Sweden. I visited the ones in Skansen, ( a historical theme park with zoo) several times, going back on my last day there to say goodbye.

We have booked now for our jabs but have to wait until next month for the first. That is down to our Federal government’s total bungling of the vaccination supply to the states. (along with everything else.) With the situation in the Eastern states and the federal bungling of Hotel quarantine as well, we keep fingers crossed as we can’t do much more at the moment. (In Oz health and quarantine are supposed to be federal responsibilities not state)

cheers

Janette

 

 

 

 

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@janetteb   The trouble with bears (from my point of view, not that I’ve ever met one) is that they’re bigger than me, they can run faster than I can, and they can climb trees better than me.   There aren’t many other animals with that disconcerting combination of abilities – leopards, maybe?    🙂

[winston @winston]

@dentarthurdent  I agree that even the relatively “small” black bears (compared to grizzlies and polar bears) is still a animal to avoid and a few people have been attacked and killed over the years. We do not see them often but are always aware that they are out there. They are usually aware of us long before and they run away, most attacks happen when you surprise a bear while eating or if they perceive a threat to their young. You are right they can run and climb way faster than us.

@janetteb  As for river otters, they eat a lot of fish and frogs and “gasp” turtles ! They are darn cute though, with those big whiskers and shiny fur they look like stuffed toys if stuffies were such efficient killers. In the winter they slide down the icy bank like children, then climb to the top to go again. Of all the animals I have watched they seem to enjoy life just a bit more.

My gardens have had to change because of the weather. The heat is too much for many plants I used to grow and many are not drought tolerant. On the other hand I can grow things that 20 years ago would have found our winters too cold. Most indigenous plants are used to a full on Canadian winter with all the snow and cold. Mild winters actually hurt them and no snow adds to the summer drought. Some people are too blind to see.

Yay got my 2nd shot and I am sooo happy! We are both vaccinated up and so is my 90 yr old father in law and it is a relief although due to variants we still need to be very careful. That is OK I am getting used to masks and they save on makeup (only have to make up the upper half).

Stay safe.

 

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@winston Great news about your second shot! Mrs Blenkinsop and I are now two weeks since ours, so we are both feeling a sense of relief. Of course, we are still wearing masks to the shops. There are variants out there, but perhaps more importantly, just being inoculated doesn’t mean you can’t get infected (even if you personally are protected from the effects) and inadvertently pass it on to someone else. So for a while, we are happy to play the game of responsibility.

Take care.

[winston @winston]

@blenkinsopthebrave  Thanks and congrats to you both. Masking and distancing are both as important now as at the start. We both decided right from the beginning that we would listen to the science and the worlds top doctors and be good examples for our kids and grandkids.  We have been very fortunate to all be healthy ,if not so happy, so far and I intend to keep it that way. Still it is nice to have both shots and to see my family catching up .

Stay safe.

[janetteB @janetteb]

Hi. Hope everyone around the world is ok. There seem to be so many crisis happening at the moment, a planetary wake up call with the fires and heat waves in North America and flooding in Europe. If only those who have the power to do something about it take note.

Just noticed, over in the distance, bright against the dark storm clouds I see blossom.

Regards

Janette

 

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

Hi @janetteb    Hope you’re OK, I heard there was a covid surge in Victoria (which of course is not that far from you).
I think just about everyone is taking note of what the climate is doing, other than a few head-in-sand reactionaries on Planet Trump.

South Auckland had a tornado a couple of weeks ago that destroyed a number of houses.   Apparently tornadoes are quite common in this region but they very rarely cause anything more than minor damage, so people don’t notice them much.   So that’s new, and disconcerting.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

Well I just re-started Doctor Who watching, next up was The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe. Which I tend to rate quite low among the Christmas specials, but I think that’s more a tribute to the quality of the other specials, or maybe the adjoining episodes, than any great deficiency in this ep. It was well cast, Madge was a sympthetic character, and I really liked Lily – intelligent and determined. Enjoyed the comic relief – “Okay, we’ve put our guns down, can we interrogate you now?” Their craft bore a strong resemblance to an Imperial Walker but with an extra leg; but when Madge started piloting it that was inevitably reminiscent of Ripley driving the loader in Alien.

Just one major anachronism – Reg got lost over the Channel in his bomber in December 1940 – that was credible, in 1940 raids on Channel ports were about the limit of the RAF’s capabilities, and in 1940 Reg would most probably have been flying a Vickers Wellington. Only, by some miracle of time travel, the plane he’s flying is an Avro Lancaster, which didn’t come into service until c. 1943… (Chrissie’s marvellous transcripts site, Chatokeya.net, was similarly puzzled, and hazarded that it might be a Stirling, based on the date – OK, not bad for an educated guess, the Stirling had four engines and pre-dated the Lanc – except that it didn’t come into use until early 1941, so still doesn’t fit, and Reg’s plane is absolutely, unmistakeably a Lancaster.) Sorry, Doctor Who – that’s a huge anachronism and nothing can save it.

The only other thing I can nerdily date, the etching of a GWR Castle carrying a ‘Bristolian’ headboard on the bedroom window, is fine since they started pre-war. Oh, and the model Spitfires on the wall are OK date-wise too. And so is the Morris 8 Series 1 tourer.
[/geek mode]

Next, Asylum of the Daleks. I’m so looking forward to that 🙂

[janetteB @janetteb]

@dentarthurdent We are currently the only state not in lockdown and keeping all digits crossed. The borders are so easily breached still Victoria has gone into hard lockdown which hopefully will curtail the spread quickly. I really hope so as they keep getting hit with wave after wave.

I really love the Widow and the Wardrobe. It has such a warm, magical feel and Matt Smith is at his playful best, showing off, being a grown up kid. I love the scenes with the house. I wonder if Uncle Digby is the same Digby that is one of the back ground children in the previous Christmas Special.

Interesting re’ the planes. I guess they used what they could and hoped nobody would notice. And talking of planes and war did you ever see the BBC series about the Royal Flying Corp in WWI, Wings? It was one of my favourite tv series when I was young and I think they did get the planes right in that but then there were what it was really all about so I would be pretty bad if they messed it up.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

They “used what they could and hoped nobody would notice?”   With respect, that is the most forlorn hope since, umm,  Eddie the Eagle.   The intersection of the sets of [Who geeks] vs [WW2 geeks] vs [Aviation geeks] is surely very large.   They could easily have fixed it by dating the telegram ‘1943’ instead of ‘1940’ though whether that would have fitted with them evacuating from London, I’m not sure.

Possibly no-one on the production team who would know the rough timeline of WW2 aircraft (and I’m sure there must have been some), noticed the date on the telegram.   But anyway, it didn’t spoil the ep for me, since the type of bomber Reg was flying was not critical to the story.

Hope SA manages to evade the virus.   I would imagine our (NZ) authorities are feeling quite nervous as so many Oz states that we have (limited) air travel with, fall over.   Wellington seems to have managed to contain its little blip recently (makes a change from it being Auckland).   I guess we’ll all have to get used to the situation changing repeatedly as little outbreaks occur here and there.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

Carrying on with the ‘weather’ theme – a couple of weeks ago the east coast of South Island had unprecedented flooding around Ashburton, now it’s the north-west end from Nelson to Westport getting record floods, and the south end of the North Island also flooding.   Also wind warnings.

I’m more complacent about wind these days – there used to be a huge acacia growing right beside the house, which could have caused major damage if it fell in the wrong direction.   I bit the bullet and had it cut down a couple of years ago (it hurt, because I love trees) but I’m no longer quite so paranoid if severe wind warnings are issued.   We still have plenty of smaller trees but they’re unlikely to do much more than wreck the guttering.

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

@dentarthurdent

They could easily have fixed it by dating the telegram ‘1943’ instead of ‘1940’ though whether that would have fitted with them evacuating from London, I’m not sure.

My favourite reply to the ‘but you used an artefact from the wrong period’ was from the producer of the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice. In response to eagle eyed viewers spotting that the billiards table Bingham and Darcy were using was ( horror!) Victorian, not Georgian, the producer replied that they knew that perfectly well. However, they explained, Victorian billiard tables were readily available, whereas there were about three Georgian billiard tables left in the country, they were all insured for a million plus – and no one was prepared to let a bunch of actors anywhere near them.

I suspect that’s the explanation for the Lancaster.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@bluesqueakpip    I think you’re probably right about the Lancaster.   Lancasters are ‘iconic’ and there are probably quite a number of them around; less so, Wellingtons (although more were actually made, throughout the war).   Wikipedia says, just two exist (and one of those was fished out of Loch Ness!)

My ‘favourite’ ‘wrong’ artefact (which still niggles me) was the train in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, about a 1910 London – Paris air race.   They went to great lengths to build authentic-to-the-period flying replicas (and in 1965 this was a big expenditure for a movie.   There was a book about it – the replicas, not the expenditure).   The villain, after crossing the Channel, crash-lands on top of a French train (and then a tunnel comes along…)   Except the that train was being pulled by the very distinctive, historic, well-known and un-French looking Highland Railway (of Scotland) Jones Goods 4-6-0.

[janetteB @janetteb]

@dentarthurdent Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines was the only film I saw in a drive in cinema, when I was very young, far too young to notice a historically incorrect train though my father, who was a train enthusiast might have done. His father was a station master so he grew up living in railway stations.

When you know something is wrong for the period it is jarring. Having always been interested in historical fashion I follow a blog which looks at how historically correct or incorrect costumes are in historical movies and tv series. They have covered a lot of Dr Who stories. From memory the worst costumes were those worn by Rose, most notably that concoction she wears in The Unquiet Dead which makes me cringe when I watch that story. Gaseous creatures living in the pipes I can believe, her walking about in that outfit and not creating a sensation I cannot.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

 

 

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@janetteb   I agree with that, specifically Rose’s costume (I know nothing of the history of fashion, but Rose’s costume in Unquiet Dead would surely have started a riot.   Although, IIRC, I think I personally liked the look of it).   And generally, that some things we can accept and ohers not.   I think in the case of Unquiet Dead, the essential difference is, that spirits in the pipes is sci-fi (wherein we know anything is possible) while Rose’s attire is mundane reality and so is judged by different standards of credibility.

This is why McGyver always jarred on me.  I’m an (ex) engineer by profession and an amateur mechanic (in the sense that I always fix my own car) so I have a strong sense of what works mechanically and nothing McGyver did would ever have worked.

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

Well, finally, in my part of western Canada, the govt has announced the introduction of a vaccine passport, necessitated by the havoc being wrought by the Delta variant and by those who resist vaccination. We are doing pretty well when it comes to folks happily getting vaccinated, with 75% of the eligible population (ie, over 12 years old) already fully vaccinated. But that will leaves 25% and there are 5 million people in the Province. I need a driver’s licence to drive a car, so I don’t see the problem with a passport to access stuff during a deadly pandemic. I attach a recent piece in a local paper. This guy has become my new hero.

https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/pete-mcmartin-enough-is-enough-im-done-with-all-of-the-covid-19-skeptics

 

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

Well we (NZ) are quite slow in the vaccination process  (Mrs D and I are due for our second shots in a couple of weeks) but that’s more due to supply limitations rather than vaccine resisters.   If they eventually do require vaccine ‘passports’ I’m okay with that.   (It’s not really a passport, I think.   Real passports entail long  queues while Customs or Immigration grill you about your intentions.   So far as I can see, vaccine ‘passports’ would be a matter of show it and you’re in, nobody’s going to delay you.   Less hassle than your drivers licence.)

We’re currently in lockdown because Delta got here.   We’ve had a requirement for masks on public transport for many months, now our government has just made masks, and scanning or signing in, compulsory in stores (during Covid alerts).   Up until now it was just strongly encouraged, and almost everybody complied.  I think those who didn’t were just being lazy or inattentive rather than ‘objectors’.   I eventually relented and bought a new $65 (!)  smartphone because my old faithful Samsung S2 won’t run the Covid tracer app (its operating system is too old a version) and ‘signing the book’ was losing its novelty.

Not one of our political parties, not even ACT (who are the nearest to libertarian that we’ve got) saw any mileage in questioning Covid control.    So we’ve been lucky in that respect.

[nerys @nerys]

@blenkinsopthebrave Your new hero is my new hero! Here in eastern Canada, our Covid numbers are generally very low. For that, I remain grateful. I am wanting to visit my family in the States, but so far am daunted by the new app we are required to use before returning to Canada. Basically you must have a negative Covid test within 72 hours of your departing flight into Canada, and that must be uploaded into this app. I have never trusted technology to do what it’s supposed to, in an already stressful situation, and in the time needed.

I was speaking with a customer at work yesterday (she’s a U.S. citizen with a home in a nearby community). She said that crossing the border is extremely stressful, especially if you’re flying. Twice she did not get her Covid test results within that 72-hour window. And when she was sending her grandchildren off, they barely caught their flight, because of the delays due to trying to get their cell phone on a U.S. plan to work on the Canadian side of the border, so that they could show their uploaded Covid test result. Long story short, she encouraged me to put off going, for as long as I can (because maybe things will improve to the point where we don’t need these cross-border procedures). And, if I do go, she strongly recommended that I drive. (If you are flying into the United States, you need a negative Covid test within 72 hours of your departing flight into the U.S. But, strangely enough, if you’re driving to the States, you don’t need one. She does not understand the inconsistency; neither do I.)

People I know who have driven have had better luck. The only problem for me is, it’s a 3.5 day drive, and not very practical. I’d basically have to take two weeks off from work. And then, of course, there’s that nagging worry: What to do in the event of a positive test result prior to returning to Canada. With Delta, that’s not an unrealistic concern. So … I feel stuck here, unable to do something as simple (or used to be) as visit my family.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@nerys    So far as showing a test result, it should be possible to save it as a file to a smartphone’s memory, and then it shouldn’t matter if it could get a connection or not, it will still display the file.     Alternatively, just print out the test result and show them the piece of paper.   I do this with tickets in case my smartphone dies on me (or I lose it).   Actually having a piece of paper can be quite reassuring.

(For example, when I went across Russia and Europe by train in 2017, I loaded all my tickets onto my Samsung S2 that had a SIM card that only worked in some countries.   Had no trouble displaying tickets when needed).

Disclaimer:  I don’t know the details of your country’s Covid app, specifically if it will download or print out a test result, but it might be worth your looking into it.   I would guess there is a paper-based alternative for people whose smartphone won’t run the app for some reason or another.    I’m sufficient of a Luddite that I don’t trust things ‘online’ unless I can download a copy.

 

[winston @winston]

@nerys and @blenkinsopthebrave   Hello, fellow Canadians!  Unfortunately in Ontario our covid numbers are on the rise again mostly due to the Delta variant and a failure to stay at home and get vaccinated. The future of schools is uncertain and who knows when we will go back into stricter lockdowns. Most of the results of “opening” too early were sadly so predictable.

We had hoped to go to B.C. this fall to see our daughter but we may wait till spring or summer. Everything is hard to plan.

We are melting in a humid oven and I am almost cooked. Days of temps in the high 30s start to sap your energy and make every chore seem like way to much work. But my garden keeps on giving me lots of veggies that must be canned or pickled, frozen or dried and put away for winter. I have made a cooking area outside to help keep the house cool but I am not.

Stay safe.

[syzygy @thane16]

@winston

sorry to hear about this . I can understand the heat & its energy sapping. & the DeltaV is awful.

We’ve idiot protests in Brisbane & Sydney as DeltaV cases in the latter increase.  ppl have parties & wander round maskless with (fake) doctored letters (I wanted to try that joke) resisting masks. 😡

been reading many comments on the Capdoc season starting with Magicians/Witches Familiar. I’m half way thru the Woman Who Lived. Boy, were there wonderful theories. And  what a bumper season….

I noticed my own incesssnt blather about how Clara was born under a clock . Jeepers, I never left that alone!

But Clara was reborn in the hospital room in Arcadia. If gallifrey ain’t a giant clock, metaphorically speaking,  I don’t know what is.

Still, I’ve also enjoyed the Whitaker (sp) run….

[syzygy @thane16]

@nerys

i absolutely agree the system is cr@p! When talking abt negative Covid 72 hour tests when flying if they have to be on your phone. Cross country plans are expensive & if I was travelling , to avoid Roaming fees I’d probably leave the phone at home.

@dentarthurdent is right though. You should be able to upload a test result.

or take a photo of it? Or is the photo easily ‘doctored’/not proper proof? You don’t want to be driving for 2+ weeks either & yes, bizarre, that driving is different to flying -with documentation. You’re all ending up in the same place…mixing in with everyone else,  ultimately. Gah!!

[syzygy @thane16]

@nerys

as @dentarthurdent also said paper is good. Paper is wise! I feel secure with a printout knowing it’s going to be there no matter what I do. My doctor sends blood test authorisations & prescriptions to my phone; never mind them being crumpled or tea stained.

I’ve deleted all of them at different times!
♥️❤️

[nerys @nerys]

@dentarthurdent @thane16 Ah, if only it were so simple. I would like nothing better than to simply have a printout to show them. But no, it must be uploaded to the official federal government app. And you have to have it within that 72-hour window. From the Government of Canada:

All travellers, with limited exceptions, whether entering Canada by air, land or marine vessel, must use ArriveCAN. You’ll need to submit your information within 72 hours before your arrival to Canada. If you’re entering by air or land, you must use ArriveCAN before entering Canada. If you’re travelling by marine vessel, you must use ArriveCAN before or upon entering Canada; this is to accommodate for Wi-Fi issues on the water.

[winston @winston]

@thane16   Hello!  I enjoy reading the forums and all the theories including your clock theory for Clara. I never had the imagination to come up with too many of my own but I loved some of the more bonkers theories and waited to see if they were right. Some were but most were not and some ideas here were better than what the writers came up with. Such fun!

The more I watch Capdocs run the more I like him. It took me a bit to get used to him but that was regeneration shock and it always happens to me. Now he is a favourite of mine and the one I quote the most.

The latest Doctor also becomes more familiar to me the more I watch her.Soon I will be quoting her.

Clocks are all about time and so is Gallifrey so your theory still holds.

Stay safe.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@nerys
I googled. I figured they must have thought of non-techy people. This page
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/arrivecan.html
is quite helpful. It’s probably best to think of ArriveCAN as a bit like a visa application (but a lot simpler than getting a transit visa for Belarus! 🙂 You have to submit quite a bit of information about your plans should you contact covid. The interface is an internet website AND/OR an app on your phone, you can use either.

Halfway down that page it’s got a list of FAQ’s including:

“If you don’t travel with a smartphone:
Submit your information within 72 hours before your arrival to Canada by creating an account and signing in online. Print or take a screenshot of your receipt and take it with you when you travel.”

“No data on your phone when travelling:
Submit your information before you leave and take a screenshot or printout of your ArriveCAN receipt to show upon entry into Canada.”

“No computer or smartphone:
You can sign in online on any computing device, like those found in Internet cafés or libraries.

If you don’t submit your information through ArriveCAN, you:
may be denied boarding if arriving by air and may be denied entry into Canada if crossing at a land or marine border crossing (if you are a US citizen or permanent resident residing in and traveling from the US or French citizen residing in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon travelling for discretionary purposes)

Canadian citizens, permanent residents or persons registered under the Indian Act and foreign nationals eligible to enter Canada under another entry exemption (such as foreign work, study, compassionate grounds) will not be denied boarding or entry, but you:

won’t be eligible for the fully vaccinated exemption
may face additional delays at the border for public health questioning
may be subject to fines or enforcement action”

So I hope that helps a little bit if you feel the need to travel.

Actually our (NZ) government is a lot stricter. Arrivals, except from a very few exempt countries (and it just got a lot fewer since NSW had its outbreak) MUST spend 14 days in a pre-booked quarantine facility. No quarantine booking, no entry. (It used to be quarantine at home, but OF COURSE a few morons broke the rules and spoilt it for everybody).

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@winston

I had regeneration shock with Matt Smith and thought this young bumbling idiot could never, ever, replace Tennant.   But within a few episodes, he did.

I didn’t have any regen shock with Capaldi since I knew he was coming.    And he’s still my favourite doctor.   With that face of his he looks dour and ferocious, so the contrast when he rides in on a tank, casually playing crashing chords on a guitar, is sublime.    And he was the perfect contrast to the upbeat personality of Clara.

[Missy @missy]

@dentarthurdent

Mr. C. became MY Doctor when he said:   ” And don’t look in that mirror. It’s absolutely furious.”

Missy

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@thane16, @janetteb, @nerys, @winston, @dentarthurdent

It suddenly occurred to me that, as we reflect on contemporary life, particularly our respective Covid lives, what we all have in common is that we are all part of the post-imperial Commonwealth. In other words, we all have British points of reference, and yet our identity is bound up with seeing ourselves as post-British, while always tethered in some respect.

I suspect that influences our love of, and response to, Doctor Who as well.

 

[syzygy @thane16]

That’s good news @nerys from @dentarthurdent….Mr Blenkinsop….Lady Winston:

I think all the Doctors since the Gap have been terrific in their own way. Took me awhile to glimpse the Dr in Ecceleston but with some stonking great scripts I was properly scared.

Tennant really opened the series to everyone. series 5 with Smith & the Ponds was fairy tale gorgeous & Capaldi in Listen & Flatline was brilliant.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@blenkinsopthebrave

Interesting thought. Doctor Who does have a very British slant – not by intent, so much as circumstance. He may be an alien, but he’s a British alien. (Reminds me of the story of the guy walking through Belfast one night when he feels something hard in his back and a voice says “Are ye Catholic or Protestant?” So he thinks very quickly and says “I’m an atheist.” And the voice says “Catholic atheist or Protestant atheist?”)

Um, I like Doctor Who the way it is, in that respect, and I’d be unsettled if it got, say, Americanised. It’s not that I like Who *because* it’s British, more that it’s part of the flavour of Who. And I guess I have a British sense of humour – though I say that with some reservations because I find it hard to define what a ‘British sense of humour’ is. For example music-hall humour leaves me cold – Are You Being Served, Dad’s Army, Hi-de-hi, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum – just bore me. On the other hand I love the Goons, Monty Python, Red Dwarf, ‘Allo Allo (which is the nearest to the Dads Army genre that I can watch), Yes Minister. So which is the true ‘British humour?’

I mention humour because I think that varies much more between cultures than, say, a sense of tragedy or drama does.

So anyway, maybe that’s something we all have in common. (I don’t mean we should all like the same comedies!). I mean we may all have a slightly British-influenced way of looking at things.

I wonder how the American fans see it.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@missy

” And don’t look in that mirror. It’s absolutely furious.”

That whole scene was absolutely hilarious.   With the Doctor, just regenerated, getting everything backwards or, maybe, just at 90 degrees to reality.

He had me at  “Oh, you two. The green one and the not-green one. Or it could be the other way round, I mustn’t prejudge.”

I love it when a one-liner stands conventional logic on its head.

[syzygy @thane16]

I think some American humour is brilliantly clever – Eli Attie of House, Westwing , newsroom – does a great job & as you weave your way thru House he’s like (ahem) a version of the Doctor.

The humour in the US Leftovers was stunning & also frightening.

perhaps we’re looking at a “Judeo/Christian/Gallifreyan” undercurrent  mixed with modern western literary tonalities.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@thane16    syzygy – I agree, particularly about Listen and Flatline.   Grumpy Doc (that sounds like a couple of the seven dwarves, doesn’t it?  How appropriate…) in his mini-Tardis was hilarious.    And Listen was truly scary, demonstrating how hair-raising you can make ‘nothing’.

[Oops – this was in response to your previous post, I’m a bit out of sync here…]

[winston @winston]

@thane16   Canadians have been watching TV from the States since TV started and their shows are still a big part of Canadian broadcasters programming. Most sitcoms we watch are American made and some are “must watch TV” while many are mediocre. When they are good they are very good, like Soap and Taxi and Seinfeld to name some oldies.

I have to say that our home grown dramas and sitcoms etc. get better all the time and we are finally figuring out who we are and what we find funny. Check out Trailer Park Boys ,Letter Kenny and  Corner Gas for some Canadian comedy.

Stay Safe.

[winston @winston]

@dentarthurdent  Deep Breath is one of my favourite first episodes. One of the scenes I like is when the Doctor shows Clara his new clothes and she sort of peeks around the console to look at him. Most of it said with their expressions and at that moment he was very much the Doctor. He was a crusty Doc with very angry eyebrows and an unpredictable nature, what’s not to love.

Stay safe.

[winston @winston]

@thane16   I totally agree that every AG  Doctor has been great, all in very different ways and all perfect at the time. Everyone here knows that my fave Doctor is always the one I’m watching at the time but ChrisDoc is my Doctor. He was the first one I watched and Eccleston’s acting sucked me into the Whovian universe and I have been there ever since.

[winston @winston]

@missy  That was a great scene, in a great episode. He likes to sleep when other people are talking because it saves time. Such good lines.

I hope you are keeping well and watching lots of Doctor Who.

Stay safe.

[syzygy @thane16]

@winston thank you for the telly info.

I need that! I’ve been watching Schmigadoon which is sweet & hilarious. ❤️♥️

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@winston From four posts back – if you (Canada) see mostly US TV, one would expect your tastes to be much more ‘americanised’ than the rest of us (except that I think we all got plenty of American content on our TVs too). But there seems to be a general impression that Canadians are much more reserved and quieter than Americans, I don’t know how true that is.   So I’m not sure how valid blenkinsopthebrave’s supposition about ex-Commonwealth countries is.

Deep Breath – I’m about four episodes away from it. In between is Day of the Doctor, of course. I must leave a good gap between those so ‘Day’ doesn’t overshadow Deep Breath. Deep Breath is probably the best introduction to a new Doctor, and Capaldi is excellent at displaying his cockeyed way of looking at the world. I like Clara’s reaction, too, she’s unsettled and angry, but with no-one to be angry at. (I recall the first time I experienced a (mild) earthquake, after a few moments of uncertainty, my first reaction was a sort of undirected anger – this should not be happening, something was very wrong and *somebody* must be at fault. This surprised me, I wouldn’t have expected that reaction). For Clara, she’s just been severely shaken up in the Tardis, seen the Doctor regenerate into a stranger with peculiar manners, and been stranded in Victorian London. Not surprising her reserves of tolerance are gone.
This gives all the interactions between the Doctor, Clara, Vastra, Jenny and Strax a bit more ‘edge’ and adds to the humour of the situation.
And I like the ambiguity of the half-face man’s demise at the end – did he fall or was he pushed? The Doctor was very enigmatic on the subject.

[syzygy @thane16]

@dentarthurdent

I lived in the States awhile- East Coast. I found Americans very reserved where I was. It was uni & most people were tired but further down in NY, people weren’t rowdy or lacking subtlety.

but the English are spastic in their telly too sometimes: loud, snarky, incredibly fast talking & sarcastic. At times. I love American telly as much as I do English and Oz telly though.

deep Breath is great isn’t it? Funnily enough I also saw Day of the Doc & read the pages here. Whoo. Rough times. 🙄

I saw Eleventh Hour two weeks ago, & yowsa, that was “brilliant” too.😊 I think 11’s was “brilliant.”

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@thane16  syzygy   Yes, undoubtedly British TV has its share of cringeworthy programmes.    Sturgeon’s Law applies – 95% of anything is rubbish.

I believe ‘New England’ is, I think, considered to be more restrained than the rest of US in general.   Just how true that is, I wouldn’t presume to judge.

So, do you think there’s anything in the theory that British-influenced cultures predispose us to like Dr Who (as suggested by the fact that most of the people active on this site at the moment come from old Commonwealth countries)?    Or just coincidence?     I tend to think there’s something in it, but I do have trouble nailing down just what it might be.   And they do say that explaining a joke kills it, so maybe I shouldn’t try.

 

[syzygy @thane16]

@dentarthurdent I think in lurking above I suggested a Western inclined literary tonality?

we’re more disposed to something western than Chinese, Russian or Korean.

It’s a predisposition. The amount of posters from Western countries could be evidence of this. Naturally it’s available in many other countries but how we interpret the Show, deal with its idiosyncratic tendencies, is Western. From a music thematic perspective, the Long Song, say, & the Companion’s themes, use Western tonal ‘values’ too.

Then on tech, one thing latches to another. I was thinking of Clara asking 11 to “app” the Christmas turkey. 😁

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@thane16    syzygy –

Yes you did (suggest a Western inclination).   I’m sure that’s right.

But I was thinking of a narrower definition – within ‘Western’ there are many subdivisions, I think.   British, French, American etc.    But – to be honest – I don’t think I could adequately define the characteristics I’m talking about.   I run the risk of arguing in circles, or talking myself into a dead-end where I’m not making sense.   So  I’ll drop it, if I may.

[nerys @nerys]

@dentarthurdent Thanks for posting that additional info. I had already read through it, and I appreciate that they did think of non-techy people … to a degree. If they really wanted to consider non-techy people, then they would allow for printouts. But, the bottom line is that you still must upload the information, whether it’s using the smartphone app or via some other computer device. And you must do it within the 72-hour window.

The problem is, if I’m flying and I don’t receive my test results within that 72-hour window, then uploading issues are moot; I must rebook my flights. If I do get the test result back in time, I still have to upload it to the official government website (which is, effectively, the ArriveCAN app, in whatever way you access it).

If I were to drive it, I couldn’t have my test done where my family is, because it takes me 3.5 days to get there, and that’s outside of the 72-hour window. Even if I got the test result back that same day, it wouldn’t be in time. So I would have to find a location where I could get a test done (theoretically within a day’s drive of the border), stay there until I receive my (hopefully) negative test result, then upload it to the government website before I would be allowed to re-enter Canada.

On to happier things: @missy I too love that line! Capaldi delivered it brilliantly.

[Missy @missy]

@dentarthurdent

Allo, allo was one of my favourite shows. Most of the time it brought tears to my eyes. Remember when Edith used to sing, everyone put cheese in their ears?

@thane16

The Australians are good at drama, not so good at comedy, it always seems to be such an effort.

Americans, depending on your sense of humour, can be good at comedy, but excel in extravaganzas, musicals and such. However, they should never remake British shows in their own image, it simply doesn’t work, the Office for example.

We British are excellent at humour and drama – again depending on your taste. Mind you, there have been many bombs too. Perfect we ain’t!

Missy

[Missy @missy]

@winston

Oh yes, he waits to get to his bits! I also love the scene when he realizes that he is ‘Scottish’ and can blame the English for everything.

Apart from arthritis I’m surviving. The is Covid is really reducing the ‘surplus population,’ how is it where you are?

Missy

 

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@nerys   OK, I agree, ArriveCAN does look to be a bit awkward to use, depending on your circumstances.    But they did (as should always be done) allow for people without the latest whizzbang fashion accessories, oops I mean smartphones   😉

Here, our Covid Tracer app only runs on more recent versions of Android (and a few cheaper smartphones are still being sold with earlier versions).   My $18 cellphone doesn’t do ‘apps’ and my Samsung S2 runs a too-old version.   But they do allow paper sign-in as an alternative, always.    But anyway, I eventually weakened and splashed out $65 (reckless with my money, that’s me!) on a base-level Vodafone E11 smartphone that runs a recent Android.    The app is better than paper sign-in, it has bluetooth contact tracing and keeps a record of where I’ve been that I can consult if necessary (rather than the authorities having to track me down from my sign-ins).

[Author]

Posts