I went to Big Lots today, not because I needed anything but because it was a lovely afternoon and I wanted to get out of the house and go for a drive. So across the reservoir I drove, and to Big Lots I went. I found myself looking at coffee pots. I had a veryContinue reading “On Peanuts Coffee Mugs and Rerun”
Author Archives: Allyn
On Completing LEGO Star Wars
On April 6, 2005, I bought LEGO Star Wars for the Xbox. (I also blogged about the death of Pope John Paul II and Tartan Day). Today, September 9, 2011, I finished LEGO Star Wars 100%. I built all seventeen minikit starship models. I scored True Jedi on all seventeen levels and built the TantiveContinue reading “On Completing LEGO Star Wars”
On Songs by Queen That I Like
Was it yesterday that would have been Freddie Mercury’s sixty-fifth birthday? Or the day before? I thought I saw something about it on NPR’s website in the last two or three days. Sometime over the weekend, surely. You can tell how much I care. I actually had to Google to see how to spell “Freddie”Continue reading “On Songs by Queen That I Like”
On Contemplating Philcon
Yesterday evening I received a surprising e-mail — it was a pre-invite to Philcon. Well, it was surprising to me; things like this are always surprising to me. Philcon is, obviously, a science-fiction convention held every November in Philadelphia. I knew of it it when I lived outside Philly about a decade ago, but workingContinue reading “On Contemplating Philcon”
On Revisiting Paul McGann’s Doctor Who Movie
For the first time in a decade, I watched Paul McGann’s single televised outing as the Doctor. The Doctor Who television movie, aired on Fox in 1996, has been unavailable in North America on video or DVD since, well, forever, due largely to the rights issues between the BBC, Vivendi-Universal, and Fox itself, over howContinue reading “On Revisiting Paul McGann’s Doctor Who Movie”
On Ian Levine’s Throwdown With Simon Cowell
Dear Daily Fail. I don’t often read your publication, but Doctor Who uber-fan Ian Levine tweeted a cryptic link to your fine paper. Levine, as I’m sure you know, worked on Doctor Who producer John Nathan Turner in the 1980s, in much the same capacity that Richard Arnold worked for Star Trek producer Gene RoddenberryContinue reading “On Ian Levine’s Throwdown With Simon Cowell”
On the Presidency of Al Gore
In less than two weeks the United States will mark a solemn and unfortunate anniversary, the tenth anniversary of 9/11. I bring this up, not to disturb the memories of some who are still traumatized by the incident, but because of a recent poll that asked Americans what they thought the world would be likeContinue reading “On the Presidency of Al Gore”
On Favorite Snack Foods
I have a thing for junkfood. It’s a particular weakness of mine. I freely admit it. I try to be good, but then something happens, like my mother and sister combining to give me twelve pounds of gummi bears for my birthday. In college my stand-by was Peanut Butter M&Ms. Or Peanut Butter Snickers. OrContinue reading “On Favorite Snack Foods”
On Fascinating Periods of History
At times, I think of myself as an amateur historian. It's unsurprising that I think of myself in that way; I was a history student in college, after all, and my library is filled with history books, from general histories of the world to histories of specific periods to histories of specific ideas. Among theContinue reading “On Fascinating Periods of History”
On New Doctor Who Spin-Offs
On occasion, I have interesting brainwaves. Take yesterday. Over on TrekBBS, there’s a thread running on what the next Doctor Who spin-off should be. You can click the link if you want, but I promise you won’t find much of interest; the ideas being tossed around amount to continuing The Sarah Jane Adventures with ClydeContinue reading “On New Doctor Who Spin-Offs”