Day 1 (or 1.5?): London.

Friday, April 18, we packed up the car and drove up to Canada to pick up my grandma and then go to the Vancouver Airport where our flight to London was taking off. (Wow, what a cool airport. The international section has a fish tank and a "river" in it!)

Our plane:

On the long, ten hour flight, I mostly slept. But I did sample the wide variety of movies and TV shows (they had Sherlock season 3. Isn't that crazy?) the airplane supplied for free... I watched Frozen! What a gorgeous movie. I did, however, think that it had a lot of unused potential plot and character wise.
Amazingly, I woke up right as we were passing over the final corner of Greenland! I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures of the ice. How beautiful!

It doesn't look green to me...

We landed 2:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, London time, which, for us, was about 5 AM. But you don't want to waste an entire afternoon sleeping, so, after checking into our hotel, St. David's, my mom and dad and I went to hit a few shops.
First on our list was... THE TINTIN SHOP!!!!!!! =D On Floral Street. This is one of the major reasons we made this side trip to London.
If you ever go to London, and are a fan of Tintin, GO HERE! It's a teeny tiny little shop, about the size of two hallways side by side. It's got tons of Tintin books and merchandise everywhere. Behind the counter hang Tintin t-shirts and in the counter's glass display case, there are ton of miniatures from the books. Mostly cars and XFLR-6's. The whole time we were in there it was packed.

 (Me, my dad, and Tintin. Am I short, or is he just tall? Either way, Tintin's the smallest.)

After the Tintin shop, we walked through the packed streets to Forbidden Planet, which is a huge sci-fi/fantasy store (with a basement full of sci-fi/fantasy books!). 

Along the way we saw many beautiful buildings (I think the architecture of London is going to have to be a separate post). We also saw some picture-worthy sights...

 

This is a street in Covent Garden where seven roads converge. In the middle of the circular area is this monument, unveiled by Queen Beatrix (who abdicated her throne to her son last year) of the Netherlands!

We also found a cool stature honoring Agatha Christie:

And we saw the funniest - if you are a fan of the show Sherlock and/or Elementary - sign on the side of a car. (There are hardly any billboards in London - all the advertisements are either on the sides of cabs, buses, or in shop windows. Strangely, this was how it was over 100 years ago too! In the 1900's, 'omnibuses,' which were double-decker carriages pulled by horses, would have advertisements on their sides as well!)

Anyway, on the side of this van we saw this picture:

An advertisement for Elementary, America's modernized Sherlock Holmes, which says "believe in better." This is ironically funny because England was the first to have the idea of modernizing Sherlock Holmes (with their show "Sherlock") and when America announced their intention to do one as well, there was some tension, and a lot of uproar from the fans of Sherlock (myself included... though now I'm not really into either show).

Forbidden Planet was a pretty cool store. It had a huge window display with this epic statue of Sauron (not the Eye; the one who had his finger chopped off), an equally cool statue of Chewbacca, and a giant paper cutout of the Fourth Doctor, with a reproduction of the Fourth Doctor's scarf draped around it's thin neck. 

Inside was chaos. Lots of people looked here and there and dashing about. When you first walk in you are wowed by a huge glass case filled with figurines. The shop also boasted many t-shirts, a giant section of Doctor Who stuff, some pretty neat Star Trek and Lord of the Rings stuff, and merchandise from other fan bases as well. My mom wasn't too interested, so she sat and read her quilt magazine underneath a giant model of the Enterprise-D.

Downstairs, as I mentioned, there was a bookstore. I don't read a tremendous amount of modern fantasy and sci-fi, which is what they had a lot of, so we went pretty quick through that corner. Another section was devoted to comics and manga. They had a huge section for DVDs and an equally huge section dedicated to guides about certain TV shows and movies. I bought a Tolkien journal to take notes of our trip in.

Fun fact: 30 years ago, when my dad went traveling around Europe for a year, he had the same journal! Of course, they've given it a new cover, but the inside drawings are all the same!

Our final stop Friday night was Foyles Bookstore, one of the hugest bookstores in the world, I believe! (Though Powell's in Portland, Oregon could definitely rival it. Plus, Powell's has better prices. If London is too far away, go to Powell's! And give me a call. I'll meet you there and we can spend the day riffling through shelves and shelves and shelves and shelves [and shelves and shelves] of books and ignoring each other because of all the books!). 

I wanted to go to Foyles because, well, it's a giant bookstore! But also because I knew they would have The World of Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (all his Jeeves and Wooster short stories, save one, in one volume). I could have ordered it from Half Price Books.com, and probably saved some money, but I thought it would be fun to buy a book in London! I ended up getting three (all Jeeves and Wooster, because they are harder to find in the USA... or, at least where I live. I'm determined to read the novels in the right order and our silly library system has the first one, but not the second! For another of Wodehouse's series, the library has the second book, but not the first! ARGH!)

 

 

Four stories of bookish bliss. Since it was getting late, however, and we wanted to turn in a bit early, we didn't stay too long, and soon meandered back to our hotel, after nabbing some dinner. 

Thus ended our first day in London!

P.S. I do believe this marks my 100th post with the tagline "books"! *confetti*

Nerd Life: StarGate.

I had a long thing explaining StarGate... but it was too messy so I decided to delete it all and start over because I can't figure out how to explain this show because IT'S JUST TOO AMAZING FOR WORDS!!!!!!
So what exactly is StarGate?
Well, first it was a movie in 1994. The StarGate, a circular ring that, when the right code is punched in, will open up wormholes to other planets, is found in the movie (titled 'STARGATE') and the first trip though it is taken.
After that, StarGate was made into a ten seasons long TV show (with several spinoff shows) with the same characters (though not the same actors) as the movie. It follows the team SG-1 as they travel through the gate to make friends - and enemies - and to find more knowledge.

 

(The poster for the movie)

This is a show like no other sci-fi show out there. For one, it's set in modern days. Also, it isn't all spaceships, aliens, must-blow-things-up. It's kind of like space-travel-meets-archaeology.
I really love that the primary means of travel in this show is not spaceships. The SG teams have to gear up and walk through the wormhole to get to the other planets. Not until much later do they figure out how to make a spaceship (with the help of alien technology and help from the Asgard's). In this show, the humans aren't the rulers of the galaxy - we're just starting to get out there in the universe, and there are a lot of people out there that want to take advantage of our planet.
Which is bad, because, besides the president and all the people working for the StarGate program (which is run by the Air Force), no one else knows about it! The rest of the humans on earth no nothing about all the enemies out there and it's up to SG-1 to save the planet over and over again! Which they do, of course.
Another thing that I love about this show is that it is SO WELL MADE! Watching it makes you think that it really is happening because the writing is so superb (as is the acting). And I LOVE how they include so much archaeology and Egypt and pyramids (which are actually alien spaceships) and even the Arthurian legend. They make it so it all seems real. Oh, it's just so amazing.
I'm gonna talk about the characters because they are so lifelike and likeable that really, anyone should watch the show just for them:

Colonel Jack O'Neill (played by Richard Dean Anderson).

 

He is an Air Force colonel who leads the SG-1 team through the first eight seasons of the show, before being promoted (and, subsequently leaving the show. I believe it was because he wanted to spend more time with his daughter).
He is a gruff man, very sarcastic, but a great leader. He has some personal baggage - his son accidentally killed himself with Jack's gun, and as a result, Jack's wife left him. Jack is a very lovable character and very funny. It's sad to see him go at the end of season eight, but he has a recurring role, so he shows up again.

His best friend is Teal'c, he watches hockey, he's never seen Star Wars, and his favorite show is the Simpsons.

Samantha "Sam" Carter (played by Amanda Tapping).

 

 

AKA one of the most well done female characters on TV. She's part of the Air Force, carries a gun (and uses it) with SG-1, can hold her own against men, but still remains feminine. She's a bit of a geek, in terms of computers and stuff. She's an astrophysicist. Sam is very down-to-earth and kind. She's a really great character.

Teal'c (played by Christopher Judge).

 

Teal'c is a Jaffa warrior. The Jaffa are kind of like guards to the bad guys (the Goa'ulds) but Teal'c defects from them in the first episode and spends the series trying to free his people from the slavery that their false gods (the Goa'ulds) have put them in.
He's pretty cool. He doesn't speak all that much and hardly ever smiles.... But in a cool way. That's the way he was raised. He does enjoy an occasional hockey game ("The Canucks of Vancouver are superior warriors"), though, and has seen Star Wars, what, eight times? Nine.

His catchphrase is "indeed" which he says all the time.

And now my favorite character... ever. In the whole wide world. Okay, maybe not. But he's right up there with Julian from Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes and Tintin. I mean, seriously. He has got to be the best character....

Daniel Jackson (played by Michael Shanks).

 

AHHHHHHHHH! I LOVE HIM!
Sorry....
Anyway, Daniel is the nicest guy in the whole wide world. He's kind and compassionate. Plus he's an archaeologist which is super cool. And he knows a whole bunch of languages. He also dies, like, ten times in the show. Most of the time it's his clone or the version of himself in an alternate reality. And he makes the WEIRDEST faces. Seriously, if you were take a screencap of all his weird faces, you could laugh your way through life.
His first three seasons are spent trying to find his wife, who was kidnapped by one of the Goa'ulds to be his wife.
He's just such a good guy. It's kind of sad in the last two seasons when his character changes from nice guy to gruff guy.

Those four, Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Daniel, are the primary characters for the first six characters. Then, in season seven, Jonas Quinn joins them just for one season.

 

He's a pretty nice guy as well, though is he kind of a filler character.... But he's cool. I like him. He's an alien. And he likes to watch the weather channel.

In season 8, Jonas leaves and it's just Jack, Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c again. But then in season 9, Jack is promoted to General and leaves the show.

Colonel Cameron Mitchell take his place (played by Ben Browder).

 

After the amazingness of Jack O'Neill... It might annoy some people to have a new leader.... But I LOVE Cam Mitchell. He is so cool. I realized the other day that he's a totally geek. He makes all these Star Trek references, even if people don't have a clue what he's talking about. And there's this one episode where he meets an alternate reality version of himself and they are talking and making jokes and they're like best friends.

 

That's how he is, but with an alternate version of himself.
He's a really great character. He's so cool.

And the last character... Vala Mal Doran (played by Claudia Black).

 

Vala is a bad girl. She shows up a couple of times and then becomes a pretty regular cast member during seasons nine and most definitely ten. She's not a character that most people would like, but she grows on you. She is sneaky and manipulative and only does stuff for others if she gets something out of it. She's gone through a lot in her life... abandonment and being a Goa'old host and lots of other stuff. She likes to seduce people and have fun and is kind of childish.
Despite all her faults, though.... She does grow on you (at least, she grew on me). She grows a lot in her two seasons for the better and eventually joins SG-1.

So, all in all, this is a very wonderful show. If you like sci-fi and archaeology this is definitely the show for you. It is so intricate and well done. The acting is superb (there's an episode where all of the characters switch personalities with each other and they do brilliantly acting as each other. It is so totally amazing) and the writing is superb. This show is definitely a 10 out of 10!

Live long and prosper!

Little disclaimer thingy... Like all TV shows, this one definitely has it's faults in language and sexual content. If you start watching this show, BEWARE of the first episode. The made-for-TV version of it is just fine (I believe) but if you watch the extended edition/feature length version of it has a full screen image of a naked lady.... So, just watch out.

Steampunk.

So that thing I mentioned I might go to in the last blog post... Well, I went and it was super cool.
My library brings in guest speakers sometimes to talk about stuff. I went to a doll one once... and various ones on homeschooling.
Tonight's speaker, however, was talking about something super cool.
A little genre called "Steampunk" which some of you are familiar with.
I recently started to read Steampunk. I started with the Larklight series by Philip Reeve and went on to read the wonderful Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld (I've reviewed both series. To read my reviews go to the top of the page and turn right at 'books.' Then scroll down until you find the name of the book and click the orange link. And actually, if I were to be honest... the first Steampunk book I ever read was the Sherlock Holmes book I got at the Christian book store. That definitely had a Steampunk element in it).
Steampunk is a very unique genre. It mixes several genres together.
As I see it, Steampunk is basically an alternate history set in the Victorian era filled with steam-powered machines.
The lady had two ways of defining Steampunk. One was: Steam = All steam powered, gas lights, ect. Punk = Rebellious, edgy.
The other was.... What do you get when you mix mad scientists, top hats, gas masks ("Are you my mummy?" Let it be said here that she was using Larklight as an example), robots, detectives, clockworks, time travel, history, scary monsters, mechanical goofies, cowboys, zeppelins, romance, and aviation? You get Steampunk!

Steampunk is a relatively new genre. There were, however, precursors in the genre. They kind of laid down the foundation - thought outside of the box for their time and came up with new, fantastical ideas. These authors were H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes.
The first actual "Steampunk" authors were Tim Powers, James P. Blaylock, and K.W. Jeter. They all published Steampunkish books around the 1980's and their publishers didn't know what to classify the books as. Sci-fy? Fantasy? So, K.W. Jeter came up with the term Steampunk.
Since then, Steampunk has grown and more people have found about it and it is becoming popular.

What are some common things you see in Steampunk?
Almost all Steampunk is set in the Victorian era (mid-1800's-early 1900's) or has a Victorian era flair to it. So you see a lot of Victorian stuff in Steampunk.
But mixed in with that is crazy inventions and space travel and time travel.

There are also a lot of gears in Steampunk. And, of course, steam powered machines. (And weapons too. Lots of cool weapons, it seems.)

You also see a lot of top hats and goggles.

Which leads me into Steampunk fashion....
Again, it's all very Victorian. Suits and vests for the men. Top hats, goggles, and cool boots for everyone.... For the women, it becomes a bit more complicated. Steampunk women usually wear tight dresses (but back then, all dresses were tight because of corsets) and corsets with high heeled boots (with weapons concealed within).
Lots of layers for both men and women... The outfits are kind of haphazardly. They look somewhat sloppy - like the characters are on the run from something and wear what they can find. I like the look. It's cool. It fits with the whole gears and steam-powered thing.

And I just HAVE to share this next picture.... It's Wil Wheaton who played Wesley Crusher in Star Trek The Next Generation. I personally love Wesley. And Wil too! Wil Wheaton is a huge geek and always has been. He runs all his own websites and has published several books on geekiness. He also plays computer and strategy board games. He plays Dominion and Ticket To Ride, which are two strategy games I love to play with my Dad and Cousin.

 

I'm not exactly sure if the picture is meant to be Steampunk or not.... But it sure looks like it! Wil Wheaton, his wife Anne, and the TARDIS. Ah, perfect. It's one of my favorite pictures. (Edit- Sure enough, it IS meant to be Steampunk! They are actually posing here in merchandise for a Steampunk store... Which I will enumerate on later).

As Steampunk grows more popular, more and more books and movies are being written and produced. One thing that the books have in common with each other is their writing style. They are written very much in the style of the Victorian era - flowing, beautiful, with big words that need to be looked up in the dictionary.

A few Steampunk websites that the lady mentioned....
One is Steampunk.com which has a list of Steampunk books.
Then there is a Steamcon.com which has a list of where Steampunk Conventions will be held in the future (Evidently there are Steamcons as well as Star Trek cons and Comicons!).
Gentleman's Emporium.com has Victorian style clothes and accessories for men and women.
Clockwork Couture is a website featuring Steampunk style clothes and accessories which you can buy and it is for this website that Wil Wheaton and his wife posed. So I guess the police box maybe wasn't the TARDIS.... But it still looks like the TARDIS and Wil Wheaton is a Doctor Who fan soooo.....
Anyway, I checked out all these websites briefly and they all look super cool! Especially the Clockwork Couture because of Wil and Anne Wheaton. =)
(However, everything looks super expensive! But it's still fun to look at.)

 

What I really like about Steampunk is the creativity. Because it has so many genres poured into one, you can literally do ANYTHING! Just so long as you stay within the parameter of steam-powered Victorian-era stuff. But you could be a cowboy or you could time travel or you could be in space and meet aliens.... Anything! Plus, the fans are so creative! Perhaps the biggest thing I love about being a geek is the imagination.... To be a geek, you have to imagine that this or that is actually happening. You can take what the creators started with and you can expand it. You can become a part of it! You can build things (like TARDIS's or Enterprise's or Steampunk computers, bikes, cars, etc). You can make your own costumes like the ones above.... You have to be creative to be a true geek and Steampunk really fits into the category of creativity.

So that's what I learned today. =)

Live long and prosper!

Top Tuesdays: Top 12 Dalek pictures.

The Daleks.
Everyone acquainted with Doctor Who, has probably heard of the Daleks. They are (one of) the Doctor's arch nemesis's. Mostly machine with no feelings except anger, they make the perfect villains. They can be especially frightening because their vocabulary mostly consists of "exterminate!" (of course, this exclamation is followed by death).
This catchphrase of the Daleks has brought about many spoofs... and now I shall share some of them with you, along with some other funny Dalek pictures I have come across.
And now I give you, my top 12 funny Dalek pictures!

12.

 

 

In honor of Valentines Day, of course.

 

11.

 

 

Every one's seen this one. Nonetheless, it's still cute. Poor, misunderstood, baker Daleks. All they want to do is cook!

 

10.

 

 

 

Christmas tree Dalek! There's a Dalek for every holiday.

 

9.

 

 

 

The first Dalek picture I ever saw... My friend sent me this when I was only a few episodes into Doctor Who. I hadn't meet the Daleks yet, but I still found this picture really funny.

 

8.

 

 

 

Because I'm reading Moby Dalek... Er, Moby Dick.

 

7.

 

 

 

 

I laughed SO hard when I saw this the other day. As a fan of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original one) and, of course, of that song.... well, I love that Dalek!

 

6.

 

 

 

Hee hee hee.... I giggle inwardly every time I see that.

 

5.

 

 

 

A Dalek snowman! I want to make one of these. I love making snow creatures.

 

4.

 

 

 

Bowties are cool, even if you are a Dalek. And he does a good impression.

 

3.

 

 

 

TOO CUTE!! Oh my word... Daleks are detestable, but these ones are really cute!

Speaking of the Beatles... I'm watching A Hard Day's Night right now. I love that film.

 

2.

 

 

 

I haven't even BEGUN to procrastinate yet... Something about a Dalek in a recliner makes me laugh.

 

And now, drumroll......

 

1.

 

 

 

Dalek vs. the Borg (from Star Trek). The Borg have a similar objective as the Daleks.... racial purity. The Daleks want to exterminate everyone that isn't like them. The Borg want to assimilate everyone who isn't like them into their collective.

I can just imagine how the battle would go....

"Exterminate!" says the Dalek, and shoots a Borg. The Borg falls dead but just as quickly, the other Borg in the collective adapt their shields to the Dalek frequency and are protected once more!

"We are the Borg. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."

The Dalek's would be able to counter the Borg shields and would once again kill a few of them before the Borg's adapted their shields again.

This goes on for hours upon hours.

Suddenly a fleet of ships approach and surround the planet where the Daleks and Borg battle. With a poof the planet disappeers! For of course, it was a Vogon construction fleet, clearing the area for a new hyperspace highway. If only the Daleks and the Borg had gone to their local planning office - the plans had been on display for nine months.

 

 

 

Live long and prosper!