Part-time Ghost

Nothing much has really been happening in my life the past couple of weeks. Mum's been abroad, so I've been doing most of the cooking at home; the course on Hellenism and the Roman Republic ended so I'm currently procrastinating really hard; I've seen some friends, watched some TV, mostly done nothing at all.

This is partly because my skin condition is acting up again, and while that doesn't impair my ability to do anything it does make me feel mentally exhausted and self-conscious about going outside. Tried to figure out how to contact a doctor, but I lost a couple of maturity points when I failed to do so (mum has promised to sort things out when she gets back, though).

Possibly as a side effect from lazing about all day, I've been reading a lot more lately, though-- except instead of any course lit or the bazillion books I have lying around, I've been reading Doctor Who novels (the novelisation of Survival and Ten Little Aliens, to be precise). My sincere apologies to my Goodreads friends.

And in the middle of this, Tumblr provided download links to the DWM comics, which means-- I have literally spent all day in front of the laptop screen, guys. It's sad but true.

Now, having experienced virtually every medium Doctor Who has appeared in I think it's interesting to see exactly how diverse and genre-defying the series is, and how differently writers can define what Doctor Who can be-- this is something fairly rare, I think, limited only to a handful of huge fandoms.

But another reason I started thinking about it is because... the comics are the first medium where I've got the impression that something feels off? That there's something a bit un-Doctor Who-ish about them?

( Some thoughts )

I don't know. It's an interesting query - what is Doctor Who - because there's no way you would get a straight answer, ever. Doctor Who needs to reinvent itself, move with the times; can some episodes even be said to be more "Doctor Who" than others? How does the change in writing affect the audience's view of the Doctor and his role in the Whoniverse?

As of the quality of these comics/novels, I might type up a more concise review post if I feel like it (what with the weekly episode and Big Finish round-ups I feel like I have quite a lot going already, even if I don't exactly put much effort into writing those).

P.S I AM SO OVER ALIEN FEMALE REPTILES/AMPHIBIANS/FISH PEOPLE/WHATEV WITH BOOBS. NOTHING ABOUT THAT MAKES ANY SENSE. AT ALL.

P.P.S I typod "with books" at first. I am never over characters, male or female, alien or not, with books. Jsyk.

The exam went... fine. Better than I expected? It hasn't been graded yet, but I know I passed. So that's good. The next course on Archaic and Classical Greece started today, and hopefully I'll be able to juggle this one better. Hopefully. Especially as I have so many fan projects to finish (though only the fic for unconventionalcourtship and my illustration for 50 Years of Whovians are things I've committed to/have proper deadlines).

Also since last: do you remember that short list of recipes I vowed to try? Well, I've made smoky roasted cauliflower twice since I posted that, so you should. Try that one. Because it's delicious, if you like cauliflower.

(Today there was almost no easily available food at home, so I whipped up some... tomato puré with onions and kidney beans and salsa in a pot. A culinary genius, I am not.)

As far as the F-List goes, hello F-List! Roughly a third of you have been back from Gally for almost a week now. :D It's been fun to see everyone having... well, fun. Though it does remind me how much I miss convention culture sometimes, especially now when I have close friends I would be comfortable with hanging out with.

Con culture in Sweden is 90% anime & manga-related, and the other 10 is mostly gaming, and the rest of Northern Europe isn't much better. I was never very good at the social part of conventions, but I do rather miss the idea, the atmosphere and the mere concept of an event aimed at fans, where you're surrounded by people who understand your interests. The closest place I could get to that these days would probably be somewhere in the UK, and I don't exactly have the resourced to pop over there. :/

So that's a bit sad. I guess I'll have to do with watchalongs and excessive imbibing of tea withing my own social circle for now. :P

Fan-wise I've found myself positively swamped by things to watch and listen to lately, Idek how I am getting through it all. It's almost becoming exhausting; whenever I'm not studying or online I'm trying to catch up on a billion Companion Chronicles, or Gallifrey audios, or watching Blake's 7... geek life is so hard, you guys.

And, because of a gifset of that one scene at the end of Planet of Fire, have some... weirdly disjointed Five!meta written past midnight?

Crossposting here in the vain hope someone will actually care, because meta on Tumblr is like screaming all my fandom thoughts into the dark abyss of the internet and hoping something echoes back.

( Resurrection of the Daleks/Planet of Fire/The Caves of Androzani )

(I wish I could meta properly. If I could, I would write all my zomg!deep thoughts about The Curse of Fenric, which is lovely and meaty and which I watched for the first time since July today.)