@Missy

Good wishes for the cataract surgery.  My two younger brothers, both of whom have undergone the procedure, say that it is well worth it.  According to them there is a bit of discomfort for a day or two, but the results are spectacular, especially as one tends not to notice how much one’s vision has deteriorated – apparently the brain a…[Read more]

My brother, ever a source of unconsidered trifles, drew this to my attention

Salvador Dalek – The Persistence of … something or other

The image is copyright, so I can’t reproduce it here.

I was assessed for cataract surgery last Wednesday and could have had the first eye done tomorrow on the NHS, but the NHS optometrist suggested that I might…[Read more]

DISCUSSION ABOUT CLASS - SPOILERS...

DISCUSSION ABOUT CLASS - SPOILERS...

If anyone has difficulty getting their heads round the concept of ‘a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff’, try this for size.  It may be that reality can be described mathematically as a jewel-like geometric construct, challenging the notion that space and time are fundamental components of reality.

I hasten to acknowledge that it was m…[Read more]

DISCUSSION ABOUT CLASS - SPOILERS...

DISCUSSION ABOUT CLASS - SPOILERS...

@MissRori  That’s an interesting take on the title, though it’s stretching the meaning of ‘apprentice’ to the point where I’m not sure it really applies.  At first, after fleeing the scene of their brief and accidental encounter, the Doctor clearly did think that he might have been at least partly responsible for what Davros became, but since foll…[Read more]

DISCUSSION ABOUT CLASS - SPOILERS...

@ichabod

he thinks he’s been elected King of America.  When he discovers how the structure of the government and the principles in the Constitution constrain his childish will, he may very well implode in a real way, or just walk away —
leaving the US to be led by Vice President Mike Pence

That also.  It was clear all along that he hadn’t any r…[Read more]

DISCUSSION ABOUT CLASS - SPOILERS...

@ichabod

What you say about Trump’s cynical political about-face doesn’t surprise me. I suspect that he has not, nor ever has had any real political convictions.  He’s just a wheeler-dealer who appears to have benefited very little from an expensive education but is a canny enough business man to know how to work things to his own advantage, if…[Read more]

@MissRori

I wouldn’t say the Doctor forfeited any sympathy from the General and Ohila in his actions.  It is not inherently wrong, after all, to fight injustice and evil and the cold hand of the grave

From their point of view, though, he was very wrong. It wasn’t so much that his actions against the High Council, though warranted on several levels…[Read more]

@ichabod

I agree entirely that he needed time alone to adjust and come fully to terms to what had happened, and I suspect that by now he is old enough and wise enough to decide such things for himself.  I’m pretty sure, though, that he would not trust, let alone rely on Karma, Fate or an impersonal universe, grateful or otherwise, to deliver wha…[Read more]

@thane15

The discrepancy between the outcome of the popular vote and the majority in the Electoral College, which is not unprecedented, is down to the fact that the popular vote is the sum of all votes cast nationwide, resulting in a simple majority one way or the other, whereas the make up of the Electoral College is determined by the results on…[Read more]

@thane15

Before a presidential election the Republican party and the Democrats, and any other candidate on the ballot, each draws up a slate of potential electors, chosen either at a State party convention or by a vote of the party’s central committee.  The nominees will usually be active members of the party in question, though not office h…[Read more]

@ichabod

Thanks for the compliment 🙂

I have just re-watched the ending of Hell Bent to check that particular detail.  As the Doctor is losing consciousness he asks Clara to smile for him. ‘How could I smile” says Clara and he replies, ‘It’s OK, don’t you worry. I’ll remember.’ When he wakes we see the face of the man from his viewpoint and f…[Read more]

The DVD of the animated version of The Power of the Daleks will be released on November 21st and is available now to stream or download from BBC Store.  The Guardian has a review but  *warning*  don’t click on the link if you never saw the episode and are averse to spoilers.

@thane15

@ichabod is probably still asleep and will no doubt be able to give a more complete answer than I can, but in the meantime I am confined indoors by another day of inclement weather, so I’ll have a stab at answering at least some of your queries – at least according to my no doubt incomplete understanding of the system

The Electoral…[Read more]

@pedant

they need something to hide that they are playing the race card,

In the case of Trump there was no real attempt to hide it;  he certainly he did nothing to discourage it in those who attended his rallies, and he seemed happy enough to accept the endorsement of white supremacist organisations such as the KKK.

There may very well be b…[Read more]