Who is in the vault? So far, I’m leaning toward the Master, except that it seems too obvious to be a fun reveal. @blenkinsopthebrave, I thought all through Series 8 that “Missy as Master” was way too obvious for Moffat!  🙂   But I suppose the surprise could be more in the line of “how/why” rather than “who”. The Doctor doesn’t fear whomever it i…[Read more]

Very much enjoying the feel of all these episodes. I’m thinking that emotionally, this is the lowest key doctor since Tom Baker. Like @CountScarlioni, I like the scope of the threats as well. We’re definitely seeing a thread of villains who aren’t really villains. I confess it’s a theme that resonates with me. Increasingly in the world as it has…[Read more]

@thane15      Actually, I think that would be very cool.  🙂

I’m just loving this series so far. As others have pointed out, the plot of this episode wasn’t exactly ground-breaking, but was interesting and effectively done. Nice visuals. As with last week’s, I’m enjoying the calmer pace. @JimTheFish mentioned Tom Baker. I felt that connection in many ways from the start of Capaldi’s run (despite the wardr…[Read more]

🙂  🙂  🙂   That was real old-school stuff, I loved it to pieces. The university setting, the relaxed pace, the emphasis on suspense rather than a lot of shouting and shooting. And the best soundtrack I have heard in awhile. I didn’t pick up all the references that others mentioned, but I got some of them. I will pay attention to that aspec…[Read more]

@Mudlark   Your cats in the hot cross buns story was wonderful. Just the thought of cats eating raw dough had me laughing. Sundance is a lovely name for a cat! I had a Siamese many years ago, named Starbuck, who spent one memorable summer going from neighbour to neighbour, being fed by them all, because he was so goodnatured and gentle that they c…[Read more]

And now I will have to go back and read the lengthy posts which look very interesting, but I will just say @winston, how extremely cool! I love that kind of history, how exciting finding your very own. What have you done with all the swag?

Just found this interview on the NY Times (apologies for their maddeningly long URLs, not my…[Read more]

@Mudlark    Your research sounds interesting. What allure can modern weeds hold in the face of 15th-century fields?  🙂  Temperatures are just starting to creep up into double digits here, so I haven’t done much yet. This will come. My alternate reality this past few months has circled between the world of the writing and the world of the 17-ye…[Read more]

Lost in the (well-deserved) uproar of Chuck Berry’s passing, was the loss of James Cotton. I saw him here, sometime during the early eighties, what a performer. Magical sounds, exhausting to watch.

That was an interesting list altogether. A surprising amount of older music on there. Mind you, we gave our son’s girlfriend a gift certificate to a local classical/jazz store that carries a lot of records as well as CD’s. Retro girl that she is, she asked them if they had “In the Mood” on vinyl!

One imagines that, had Delia been male and, sa…[Read more]

Many things return in the spring. Ospreys, pollen, my energy, etc. Is the return of the ospreys the first sign of spring in Wales? I like to say that the first sign of spring in Vancouver is when Bellagio’s Gelato reopens on Main Street (this hasn’t happened yet). Spring has been a little slow arriving this year, as we actually had winter for once…[Read more]

@Whisht @Thane15    I was actually listening to Giant Steps just the other day. I have to be in the right mood for it as I find it a bit chaotic at times. Coltrane is actually playing on Kind of Blue, and I love him there. Isn’t that the best pickup band ever? Cannonball Adderley on the alto. I love this track (Miles Davis and Art Blakey are on i…[Read more]

Apparently 2016 has not finished kicking us yet.  🙁   I’ve just learned that we’ve lost Leonard Cohen.

@thane15      Canadians, by and large, share your views about that kind of patriotism. The former Harper government tried to tell us differently, but it didn’t go so well in the end. Love to your mom!

@pedant     The maps are fascinating. I followed last night on the New York Times website, which had the interactive map front and centre, and yes, it was very clear very quickly that most urban areas were going Democratic. We have a similar disconnect in Canada. Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal have rarely supported Conservative governments (al…[Read more]

@lisa      Re Hillary Clinton. Speaking from a Canadian point of view, here she would actually be considered a centre-right politician, with a progressive streak in some areas. Before the Harper years, this type of right-wing party was as right as it usually got in Canada! But many Canadians understand why support for Sanders never really tran…[Read more]

@Whisht       Great choices.  🙂  Stan Rogers died far too young in a plane crash, so his career was cut short after only a few recordings, but he is much loved as his songs really reflect traditional Canadian culture, from sea to sea to sea (although he was an easterner himself). Barrett’s Privateers doesn’t actually reference a specific hi…[Read more]

@Thane15     I am devoting my day to music and cooking, two things I can do to create positive energy. Friday is Remembrance Day, and tomorrow is a school closure day, so today my son’s school has Remembrance Day assemblies all day. He is in the choir, so he gets to spend much of the day in the auditorium singing, including multiple goes at the n…[Read more]

@Thane15  @janetteB  @Miapatrick @Mudlark

I read that 70% of Trump supporters think life was better in the 1950’s, and wish America could go back to that. !!! Tell that to women, and blacks, and gays, and so many others that were downtrodden or persecuted in the golden era of America. And of course Thane is absolutely right, it’s aston…[Read more]