Jamie's June Fave Five

We can’t stop now, we are on a roll!  Kacey got a post up on Saturday AND we went to see Les Miserables at the 5th Ave. Which was brilliant, for the fourth time.  I think it’s my favorite, and I don’t say that lightly.  I love musical theatre in general, and I have a number of favorites (Rent, Hairspray, Wicked, Spring Awakening, Avenue Q, etc). But I think that Les Mis may top even RENT.  And that is saying something for someone who will be seeing RENT for the seventh time in August.

But anyhow, another month has come and gone so it’s time for another internet fave five.  Here’s what I loved in June (and, okay, the first couple days of July).

1)        No White Noise: Buffy Re-Watch – I have not been participating in the Buffy re-watch that this blog is doing, for a couple reasons.  1) The “live” re-watch is Monday nights, which interferes with Eureka and 2) I just did a full Buffy re-watch a few months ago.  That said, the hilarious recaps from a first time watcher (see what I did there) are inspiring me to want to catch up, or at least join in.  Reading someone’s initial reactions to one of my all-time favorite shows, complete with hilarious screen shots/captions is priceless.  Even if you don’t join the re-watch (or first time watch), I recommend reading their recaps, which generally get posted on Tuesdays. ,

2)        Nerds Fixing Internet Errors – Back to the Future – Speaking of screen shots, if you were anywhere on the internet on June27th, you probably saw the screenshot of dates from Back to the Future?  It was posted around with people making comments that we were supposed to be in the future and where the hell were our hover boards.  Generally this is a valid question (along with jet packs, I mean, why don’t I have a jet pack yet??) However, the true nerds and BTTF fans spoke up to note that this was just a little photo shop and we really have another 3 and a half years until we should panic about the lack of hover boards.  The true date from Back to the Future 2 where they travel to the future to check out Marty & Jennifer’s less than awesome future is October 2015.  I just loved how quickly the internet nerd community policed itself, because we certainly wouldn’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves if we are not living up to the promises of the future from a 1980s time travel comedy.  An iconic film, yes… but a film nonetheless.

3)        Top Ten Sherlock Quotes – I read a lot on the website Hypable (which I mention on here a lot) because instead of being an entertainment site that is obsessed with the details of the TomKat divorce of who is getting the first pictures of the newest oddly named celebrity baby, it focuses on the kind of nerdy fan stuff that I really care about.  Whether it’s leaking spoilers or casting news for my favorite show or a highly anticipated film, or starting a lively debate over the best TV theme songs of all time, Hypable never fails to keep me coming back for more.  Multiple times a day usually.  This little piece on the top ten quotes from the brilliant BBC Sherlock series was one of my favorites.  Not only did the author pick out some of my favorite Sherlock quotes, but they also used the word plethora in the opening paragraph.  Bonus points for that.

4)      Paul & Storm - Write Like the Wind - Now, I am only halfway through book 3 of the amazing Song of Fire & Ice series, but I'm fairly confident that I will catch up before George gets another book done.  So I'd just like to say that I totally support this plea (which, for those who have not read/watched Game of Thrones, is totally spoiler free) from Paul & Storm that he get on it with writing more books.  They posted this fabulous song on the brilliant Geek & Sundry YouTube channel. 

5)        Lego Settlers of Catan – Well, let’s just make this post as nerdy as possible and round off my fave five with this link that a friend sent to me of this awesome lego version of the game board/pieces.  I didn’t learn to play this game until a few months ago, and now I’m not certain where it has been all my life.  Not only that, but I left the game with my parents and apparently my mother is a little obsessed.  We might have to make an intervention banner. 

Books Read: 31 (Only a few hundred pages left, but A Storm of Swords is so good… and intense… and emotionally devastating.  I might have been cursing George R.R. Martin in a manner I typically reserve for Joss Whedon after a particularly upsetting character death)

Coming Soon: Sarah analyzes what will need to happen for us to get to a future where we don’t need roads.

Everything Jamie Knows About Time Travel

Kacey & I have conversations like this all the time.  

How come some vampires can go outside and sparkle while others burst into flame?  

What are the best wizard duels of all time?  

How would the Doctor critique the other time travelers that we know and love?  

We are on a bit of a Doctor Who kick right now (more on that coming soon), so time travel is a hot topic.  Everything I know about time travel I have learned from the movies and TV. Okay, so there was that mini-section on special relativity in Physics in high school.  And it was arguably the most entertaining part of that class (better than my damn bridge).  But I just want to apologize now to people with a real understanding of what actual time travel would involve.  You know, people like Sheldon.   Here is what I know about time travel and where I learned it.

 

• Time machines come in all shapes and sizes.  This can be a DeLorean (Back to the Future), a Police Box that is actually a TARDIS (Doctor Who), a phone booth (Bill & Ted), or some kind of space ship like thing (most other films/shows).
• If you don't have a machine, then some sort of small device will probably work.  Like a timeturner that fits on a necklace (Harry Potter).
• Time is incredibly sensitive.  If you make one small little change, the whole world could be completely insane.  One guy from the past sneaks off with you to the future and and you come back [details have been redacted so as not to spoil Kacey on Eureka plot lines that she has not yet viewed].  Marty McFly (Back to the Future, but I seriously hope you knew that just from the name) almost erased himself from existence.  Try not to do this when travelling in time.  Just stick to the plan and lay low.
• Alternative timelines are complicated.  However, if you have already seen Back to the Future II prior to watching the J.J. Abrams Star Trek film, you will immediately grasp what is going on with this reboot.  Because you know that one little shift creates an alternative timeline where the future is different.  Your main timeline is still there, but you have to undo what caused the split in order to fix it.  Or you can just go on in the newly created future.  It's a choice really.  If it sucks a lot and you can pinpoint the moment of the change, and you have the means to change it, then you should go back and turn left.  You won't remember not existing.
• Do not be seen by yourself.  This would seriously freak you out.  You really shouldn't interact with a past or future version of yourself.  You could create a paradox.  Or just bad things would happen.  Of course, sometimes seeing how awesome your life is going to be can help you to go back and deal with a not so awesome childhood, like in Meet the Robinsons.
• Seeing an alternative version of yourself, however, is probably okay. At least according to Spock, and when is he ever wrong?   
• There are some things that cannot be changed - The Doctor is very clear on this, and when he tries to be bigger than these important moments, it backfires.  Some things simply must happen.  They are too important to the progression of time.
• History is really cool - Bill & Ted really captures this.  I mean, who doesn't want to pick up Socrates & Lincoln for a day to party, and then have them remind us all to be excellent to each other.  Not to mention, you just may get to hang out with Van Gogh or Churchill if you're traveling with the Doctor.  Of course, you may find out that romanticizing the past won't bring you any real happiness, and you should try to appreciate the present and dump your annoying fiance, like in Midnight in Paris.  Only realize this after having drinks with Hemingway.  Always have drinks with Hemingway first.
• Living the same day over and over again is not time travel.  It's torture. I'm pretty sure it's against the Geneva Conventions, but sometimes the powers that be feel you need some additional time to figure out your life (which is my interpretation of Groundhog's Day), or a device goes all wonky in Eureka and you are the only one who knows what is happening.  That, unlike if you are just some TV jerk, does not end well.
• Time is really just a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey All of these other things are totally true, but per usual, the last remaining time lord says it best.

 

 

Books read: 29 (The Art of Fielding is amazing)

Coming Soon: After hearing that 50 Shades of Grey was originally Twilight fan fiction, Sarah writes a colorful review of the series, without bothering to read it.  She also looks up the names of the main characters and offers casting suggestions.