The Dalek Rolled Up To Her And Said "DOCTOR DETECTED!" The Crowd Parted, Backing Away. Val Stood There,

The Dalek rolled up to her and said "DOCTOR DETECTED!" The crowd parted, backing away. Val stood there, staring UP at this huge thing...The Dalek said "I WILL BE BACK TO EXTERMINATE YOU IN TWENTY YEARS" and rolled off.

darthambiguous:

Who Baby

Ryan Dewalt dressed his beautiful baby girl as every Doctor (and more). It doesn’t get any cuter than this.

Damn you Tumblr! I know you don’t want people to go overboard with their photosets, but there are ELEVEN Doctors!  Not Ten!  It was a tough decision, but poor 2nd Doctor Troughton missed out (but he’s embedded below!).

Oh, and for the keen eyed observer: yes, you are quite correct. That’s actually a toy dog cosplaying as K9 in the 4th Doctor photo. Exactly as the artist intended.

 AMAZING. AMAZING. AMAZING.

Once upon a time, I used to review books on my Tumblr! Then I stopped out of laziness. But I like being able to go back and see what I thought about books after I've read them, so I'm going to do a trite summing-up post.

Labor of the Heart: A Parent’s Guide to the Decisions and Emotions in Adoption by Kathleen L. Whitten

Adoption is difficult, expensive, and emotionally complex. I already knew that, but this book provided good specifics about the adoption process and the emotional aftermath, which are helpful for book I'm working on (it's called Hallways).

Witch Baby, Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys, Missing Angel Juan and Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block

Speaking of adoption, no one tells Witch Baby the circumstances of her birth, which leads to depression and a piquant morbidity of thought (reading F. Scott Fitzgerald is what leads to descriptions like "piquant morbidity of thought.") Like with Weetzie Bat, I was unsettled by the combination of realistic themes (sex, drugs, depression, abuse) and the pretty, childlike narrative voice. But I still liked them, and I think our culture needs to negotiate a bigger space for these kinds of stories. Weetzie & Co are still terrible parents, though.

February House by Sherill Tippins

A bunch of now-famous writers, artists, and musicians decided to rent a house together and form a communal creative space (occupants included Carson McCullers, W.H. Auden, and Gypsy Rose Lee). Some of them accomplished good work; others drank and drank and did no work at all. The idea sounds really awesome in theory, but seriously, I bet it was a nightmare. Can you imagine trying to collect monthly rent from ten or twelve drunk artists? Can you imagine trying to convince ten or twelve drunk artists that someone needs to do the dishes? Holy God.

Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life by Winifred Gallagher

No, you really can't multi-task and still get things done efficiently. I already knew that, but I didn't want to believe it. :( Gallagher also mentions that an interval of 90 minutes is about as long as you can stay "rapt" in the zone of intense productive focus. I was like "how useful to try!" but honestly, I can't stay focused for half an hour, let alone 90 minutes.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

I had never read any of Hemingway's books before! And I have a BA in English! I did read "Hills Like White Elephants" like three times in various classes, though. Anyway, now I finally see why Hemingway's style is so famous, and that Raymond Chandler was working in the same minimalist/non-emotional vein, only with snappy jokes. I also see why some label Hemingway misogynistic, but it's a more...complex misogyny?...than I thought it would be. Catherine's character doesn't feel realistic AT ALL, but her denial and harsh carelessness in the face of an unwanted pregnancy is fascinating. And then there's the thematic tidiness in her baby being a boy -- she's beset by men on all sides, from her dead fiancé, who triggers her mental and emotional breakdown, to the book's narrator, whose interest in sex outweighs any consideration for the risks, to the baby boy she didn't want and couldn't survive. Oh yeah, also there's some war.  

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A well-written account of two horrible, horrible people.

REACTION 1: Bella just traveled to Italy to prevent Edward from killing himself, and during her journey she witnessed the Volturi torturing people and eating tourists. After all that, Edward can't overlook a single can of Coke? GET THE GIRL SOME WHISKEY, YOU ANIMAL.

REACTION 2: Man, there's nothing sexier than a guy coldly disapproving of your personal choices.

"Yo Anna...hey, yo, Anna Wintour! I'ma need that cover, baby girl!"

Even better: Go on Matterhorn, fireworks start, SURPRISE DAZZLE!