Alive

I have found out that on the 23rd of September, Jessie J's second album will be released in Britain, and then released worldwide the next day.  It has been revealed that the title of her new album is "Alive".

Jessie J

As of late, a few songs from her next album have been released, including "It's My Party", "Excuse My Rude", and "Square One", as well as "Wild", which was released in May.  I shared my thoughts on "Wild" here.

I like "It's My Party".  For me, it doesn't rank as high as "Who You Are", "Nobody's Perfect", or "Big White Room", but I like it.  It's catchy and it has an energetic beat that makes me feel like dancing.

"Excuse My Rude" is the second album's "Do It Like a Dude".  Like "Do It Like a Dude", it has an intimidating and empowering feeling.  And unlike "Wild", it has rap that goes well with the rest of the song.  Becky G's rapping is energetic and flows rhythmically.  Jessie J and Becky G's style go well together in this song.  As a result, this is a very catchy and addictive song.

Of course, I can't know for certain, since I have yet to hear all of her new songs, but "Square One" may quite possibly be my favorite from her second album, "Alive".  My favorite part of the lyrics is:  "I don't want to hold hands with a stranger, I don't want to walk when I just learnt how to run."

"Magnetic" is beautiful, haunting, and addictive.  I can't decide which I love more, "Square One" or "Magnetic".  I've heard rumors of "Magnetic" not being on the second album.  I hope this isn't true.  It now ranks among my favorite songs by Jessie J.  "Magnetic" is featured in The Mortal Instruments:  City of Bones, which will be in theaters August 21st.

There's also "Hero", which is a really great song.  "Hero" is featured in the sequel to the superhero movie Kick-Ass, which is now in theaters.  I like "Hero" more than "It's My Party", "Excuse My Rude", and even "Wild".

I prefer the acoustic version of "Wild" to the version that will be on her album.  Jessie J is one of the few musicians I know who sounds better live.  I actually prefer the live acoustic versions of most of her songs.  It shows off her voice, and it just suits some of her songs better.

An acoustic version of "Wild" (not the whole song):

In an interview, Jessie shared that there will be an emotional song on her next album that she will not perform live, as it would be too emotional for her.  I think this song will be the "Who You Are" of her next album.  I was wondering if there would be a more emotional and personal song like "Who You Are", and this song seems to be what I have been hoping for.  It will only feature Jessie's voice and a piano.

Well, for now, until the release of "Alive", I will content myself with listening to her earlier songs as I wait:

"My Shadow":

An amazing live performance of "Who You Are":

A heart-felt live performance of "Who You Are" at a concert in 2012.  She is a musician who sings with her heart and soul, and she gives every performance her all.

And an awesome performance of "Nobody's Perfect" at the same concert:

The hair style Jessie has in this performance is my favorite of her hair styles - it's very 1970's-like.  She reminds me of Julie Christie with this hair style.  I like how Jessie interacts with her audience - she's very down-to-earth and personal with her fans, and a natural at performing.

Doctor Who Tag - Day Six

Favorite Doctors

I listed who my favorite Doctors are in this post, although truthfully I love every one of the eleven Doctors (soon to be twelve).  The Doctors I listed were the ones I knew most about.  The reason I did not include Two, Three, Six, Seven, and Eight as my favorite Doctors, was not because I didn't like them, but because I was less familiar with them.  Every actor who has played the Doctor has contributed to Doctor Who in their own way, and has made their role as the Doctor their own.  They all deserve recognition.


Even so, I will admit that I do in fact have a favorite Doctor.  And that is Matt Smith's Doctor, Eleven.  Matt Smith is my Doctor.  His episodes weren't the first I watched, but in a way he is the reason I am a Doctor Who fan now.  I became interested in Doctor Who through his popularity.  Matt Smith's era was what made Doctor Who as popular as it is today.  Of course, David Tennant's era helped the show gain popularity as well, but Matt Smith made the show unavoidable; he drew attention to it.  At least, that is what I have observed.

The fact that Matt Smith is the youngest actor to play the Doctor is very interesting, because his Doctor is the oldest so far.  He is playing an old man in a young man's body, and that concept has always fascinated me.  He presents a profound performance, that allows us to see the ancient soul within the childlike exterior.  He is both innocent and light-hearted, yet burdened with memories of a "dark and dangerous past".  It's as though Ten regenerated into Eleven because he wanted to lighten his burden by turning into someone childish and light-hearted, although in the end, loneliness and heart-break were inescapable.  He may have realized this when he lost Amy and Rory.  That's how I view it.

I love when he twirls around in his TARDIS and when he makes humorous remarks, like when he said, "You swallowed a planet!", to Amy in the episode, "Amy's Choice".  Matt's such an emotional, heart-felt, and funny Doctor, and his bright personality clearly shows.  Not to mention that his connection with young Doctor Who fans and his understanding of children are irreplaceable.

I love 11 and Amy's friendship.

"Yowza!"

I also love that he's a very modern Doctor, yet old-fashioned at the same time, which is reflected in his clothing.  Sometimes he seems like a grandpa deep inside (well, he is a grandpa, actually - Susan Foreman's grandpa to be precise).  He especially reminds me of a grandpa in the episode, "The Angels Take Manhattan", in which he wears very old-fashioned glasses (that is, they seem old-fashioned to me).

What is so cool about Matt Smith's Doctor is that he is the most modern and young of all the Doctors, yet he maintains many characteristics of the Doctors from the Classic Who era.  For example, Matt Smith's favorite Doctor is Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor, and I can see how he has influenced him.  For one thing, Patrick Troughton wore bow ties, and now Matt has brought them back, cooler than ever.

So, thank you Matt for being my Doctor.  I love all of the Doctors, but Matt will always be my absolute favorite.

Some Annoyances I Must Address

"I wonder what's up today?" is a phrase my three-year-old cousin likes to remark to himself.  Well, I have a similar question to ask, except it has to do with books.  What's up with book titles these days?

I feel like every single modern teen book out there has a one-word (and sometimes two-word) title.  Whatever happened to putting "The" in front of something?  Does it really have to be one word?  What's so cool-sounding or edgy about a title being one word?  I wouldn't have a problem with it, but it seems like every single author is doing this now, and I'm getting tired of it.  Let's vary our titles a bit more, please?

Something else has been grating on my nerves lately.  It's been going on for a while.  And that is the use of "I" vs. the use of "me".  Look, I'm used to people not knowing when to use "I".  I'm used to hearing "It was Bob and me at the park" or "You and me are going to the mall" when it should be "you and I".  It's incorrect grammar, but I actually prefer it to when someone does the other thing.  The other thing drives me crazy.  I can't stand when someone incorrectly uses "I" when they should use "me".  For example, "Would you like to go to the park with Bob and I?".  This is incorrect.  Would you say "Would you like to go to the park with I?".  No, you wouldn't.  You would say "Would you like to go to the park with me?".  "Me" does not change to "I" when you group yourself with another person in your question.  But the worst part is that people who say things like "Would you like to go to the park with Bob and I?" think they're being grammatically correct.  And other people think they're being grammatically correct, too.  However, they are not being grammatically correct.  They are wrong.  Let's clear that up here and now.  "I" is used for the subject of the sentence, and "me" is used for the object of the sentence.  That is all there is to it!

Another thing that bothers me are incredibly fake and over-the-top Scottish accents.  You have no idea how many times I internally wince while listening to a terrible Scottish accent.  Even Emma Thompson, who voiced Merida's mum in Brave, irritated me to no end with her fake Scottish accent.  Her Scottish accent is certainly not the worst I've heard, but it still annoyed me quite a lot.  Perhaps the very fact the accent is fake irritates me.  I love Emma Thompson very much, but why is an English woman voicing a Scottish queen?  By the way, despite Emma Thompson's fake Scottish accent, I loved Brave and I will be reviewing it on this blog some time soon.

And lastly, I am annoyed with some people's ignorance of Irish and Scottish skin.  Stop telling us to tan, and stop telling us that we "should go in the sun more".  Irish skin, like mine, can easily burn.  I can't tan; if I were to go out in the sun unprotected I would get freckles, which is my body's way of saying it's getting too much sunlight and can't cope.  I can get sunburn within just a few minutes, and eventually even skin cancer.  Our skin is sensitive to intense sunlight.  Ireland is a temperate land where it rains often, and even on relatively sunny days the sky there offers natural protection to the skin.  The quality of the sunlight is not so intense or as bright as it is in other places like North America.  Our bodies are not made for hot, sunny, and/or dry weather.  Light eyes and light skin are sensitive to that amount of light.  My grandmother, for instance, is Scottish through her father, and she has very light-colored eyes.  She moved to a very sunny place, and she now has damaged eyes because of it.  And my mom, for instance, has very Scottish curly hair that needs moisture.  Therefore, a dry climate is not healthy for it.  There are other effects too, from living in a climate one is not adapted to, such as headaches and sunstroke.  My mother and brother have clear blue eyes and their eyes get "burned" by bright light.

So stop expecting us to tan.  And stop saying we are too pale.  It is our natural skin color, and it is beautiful the way it is.

Whew, glad I got all of those things off my chest.

Wild by Jessie J

I can't wait for Jessie J's second album to be released.  There is a music video for her new song, "Wild".  I love Wild.  It has a beat one could dance to and it's very catchy, especially the part where Jessie sings "Wild, wild, wi - ohohohohohohoh wild, wild, wi - ohohohohohohoh"!  One day in June my family drove to a beach, and Wild happened to be stuck in my head.  I had memorized the lyrics nearly from beginning to end, so I sang it during the entire car ride.  It drove my brother nuts.

Anyway, here is the music video.  I like the sharp contrasts created by the use of black and white.

Some like the song with the exception of the rapping parts.  I would like the rapping far better if the lyrics were less lazy and actually made sense.  They also don't really seem to have anything to do with the rest of the song, which makes me wonder why they were included.  I prefer Dizzee's lines to Big Sean's.  I actually kind of like Dizzee's part.  Big Sean's lines make absolutely no sense at all.  Jessie's lyrics are fine.  I suppose overall, it would have been better to have left out Big Sean and Dizzee.

Here's a section of Big Sean's lyrics (the lyrics are highlighted in orange and my comments are highlighted in green), as an example of how irrelevant they are:

Today I woke up feeling like the mayor Random.

I spent 'bout an hour looking in the mirror Vain.

As I should, as much as I've been through  Feeling sorry for himself.

It's a wonder I look this d**n good  Vain again.

I'll probably make it out [of] any situation that you try to put me into  This is actually one of the main themes in Jessie's music.

If I swim with the piranhas it's guaranteed that Imma probably have a fish dinner Random, vain, and irrelevant.

So those are pretty much my thoughts on one of Jessie J's more recent songs.  Once again, I can't wait for her second album to come out!

Doctor Who Tag - Day Five

Least favorite episodes

Series six had some strange episodes, like "Night Terrors" and "The God Complex".  I didn't exactly dislike them, but they seemed unnecessary to me.

"Night Terrors", for one, had an interesting premise, but the mystery didn't lead up to very much.  The climax left me feeling unimpressed.  It was meant to be creepy, and I did find it to be creepy sometimes.  The dolls had a very frightening design, with their large ghost-white heads and sunken, black, empty eyes.  But Amy being turned into one verged on ridiculous, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"The God Complex" was also a creepy and strange episode.  It felt a bit out-of-place to me.  Each writer of Doctor Who has their own style, so I understand that not every episode will feel the same.  That's one of the cool things about Doctor Who, that it experiments and is willing to take risks.  I still thought this episode was a bit too weird.  I also felt like it may have been some sort of commentary on religion or faith, or maybe just faith in general, which I don't have a problem with at all.  I was just not expecting it; it caught me off guard.  Overall, I thought "The God Complex" was an incredibly interesting and complex episode, but it was too strange, even for Doctor Who.  So strange that I think I actually liked it.  Yeah, I've changed my mind!  I like this episode.  But it was very strange.

The only episode of Doctor Who that I actually disliked was "Love and Monsters", the tenth episode of series two.  I believe "Love and Monsters" was Doctor Who's lowest point.  I also felt like it didn't belong with Doctor Who.  I try to pretend it doesn't exist.

Doctor Who Tag - Day Four

Favorite episodes and scenes/moments

My favorite episodes (from least recent to most recent):

1)  The End of the World

Series 1 Episode 2

 

I enjoyed "The End of the World" from beginning to end!  It was impressively creative, as Doctor Who usually is, and full of atmosphere.  I don't really know why, but something about this episode struck me as rather beautiful.  It resonated with me after watching it.  It dealt with a couple of themes like the cycle of birth and death, with Cassandra's unwillingness to let go of life, and with Rose Tyler watching the earth die.

Thought-provoking quotes from this episode:

Rose:  "The end of the earth.  It's gone...we were too busy saving ourselves, no one saw  it go.  All those years, all that history and no one was even looking."

The Doctor:  "You think it'll last forever, the people and cars and concrete.  But it won't.  One day it's all gone, even the sky.  My planet's gone.  It's dead.  It burned like the earth.  It's rocks and dust before its time."

Rose:  "What happened?"
The Doctor:  "There was a war, and we lost."

The Doctor:  "Everything has its time and everything dies."

2)  Doomsday

Series 2 Episode 13

"Doomsday" was a heart-wrenching episode to watch, but it was beautifully done.  It was one of the most memorable Doctor Who episodes for me and will always hold a place in my heart.  It was heart-breaking that he never finished his sentence:  "Rose Tyler, I - "

3)  The Runaway Bride
2006 Christmas Special

"The Runaway Bride" introduced the 10th Doctor's new companion, Donna Noble.  And it was brilliant.  Donna and the Doctor's bantering back and forth was hilarious and I loved the friendship that began to grow between them.  Donna immediately became a favorite companion of mine.

4)  Human Nature

Series 3 Episode 8

John Smith's 'Journal of Impossible Things'.  One of my
favorite scenes in Doctor Who.

I loved this episode.  It did such a wonderful job of creating atmosphere and mystery.  "Human Nature" made me feel like I had actually gone back in time to 1913, in England.  The concept of the Doctor experiencing being an ordinary man, without remembering who he was before, was intriguing and revealed that despite the fact the Doctor is not human, he resembles the common man who must rise up and fulfill his destiny, even when he doesn't want it.  There were several themes in "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood", like sacrifice for a greater cause - in "The Family of Blood" John Smith had to sacrifice his life and himself for the Doctor to return.  He had to sacrifice himself so that others could be saved.  The young boys would have to make sacrifices in WWI, which was beginning to rear its head at that time.

5)  The Family of Blood

Series 3 Episode 9

The scarecrows brought a dark and frightening aspect to
"Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood".  They gave
me the creeps.  They are now among my favorite villains.

"The Family of Blood" was the second episode of the two-part story ("Human Nature" being the first), and proved to be an exciting climax.  The ending was incredibly sad - it broke my heart that the Doctor could never walk the long path, be happy and content, and experience life as humans do.

I've heard that some people didn't like the romance between John Smith and Joan Redfern, but I liked it, and it didn't bother me at all.

John Smith and Joan Redfern go on a walk.

6)  Blink

Series 3 Episode 10

"Don't blink.  Blink and you're dead.  They are fast.  Faster than you can believe.  Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink.  Good luck."

"Blink" brought to life my second-favorite Doctor Who villains, the Weeping Angels.  The Weeping Angels are villains that can send you back in time with a single touch, and curse you to live out the rest of your days in the past until your death.  This episode was bursting with suspense and atmosphere from start to finish.  It was engaging and never left me bored for one instant.  I was left in awe after watching it.  Yet another reason to love this episode was Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow.

7)  The Eleventh Hour

Series 5 Episode 1

"You're Scottish, fry something." - Eleven

"The Eleven Hour" was a perfect introduction to Matt Smith's Doctor.  It was exciting and fast-paced, and didn't fail to impress me.  I think each Doctor's debut episode should assure the viewers that the new Doctor will be just as great as the last, and that they are in good hands.  I believe "The Eleventh Hour" accomplished both.  I fell in love with the 11th Doctor right away for his humor and bright personality.  Geronimo!

8)  Vincent and the Doctor

Series 5 Episode 10

"Vincent and the Doctor" was very moving and one of two Doctor Who episodes that made me cry.  The ending scene is one of my most favorite moments in Doctor Who, ever.  I could go on and on about how meaningful and heart-felt this episode was, but I won't.  I'll simply leave it at this:  it was a work of art.

9)  The Pandorica Opens

Series 5 Episode 12

"The Pandorica Opens" was amazing - full to the brim with adventure, mystery, excitement, and a whirlwind of emotion.  I don't know what else to say about it, except that in my opinion, it's one of Doctor Who's best episodes.

10)  The Big Bang
Series 5 Episode 13

This was an overwhelming series finale, but in a good way.  It was extremely tense, and it built up to an exciting climax, with unexpected plot twists along the way.  I loved every minute of it.  And, as usual, it was very emotional.  Episodes with the Ponds tend to leave an emotional impact on me...

11)  Let's Kill Hitler

Series 6 Episode 8

This episode was filled with a lot of memorable moments.  It remains one of my favorite episodes with River Song (well, let's be honest here...I like all episodes with River Song...).  And since I am a fan of River Song (which you may have guessed by now...), I obviously enjoyed "Let's Kill Hitler" quite a lot.  This episode had a lot of funny scenes, like when the Doctor told Rory to put Hitler in the cupboard:

12)  The Girl Who Waited

Series 6 Episode 10

One of my top favorite episodes.  If I were to narrow down my list of favorite Doctor Who episodes, "The Girl Who Waited" would be somewhere among the top five, along with "Vincent and the Doctor".

13)  The Wedding of River Song

Series 6 Episode 13

This was my favorite episode with River Song.  So many great scenes, so many great moments.

14)  Angels Take Manhattan

Series 7 Episode 5

This was an emotionally stressful episode, but I loved it to bits.  I felt it was a well-done farewell to the characters of Amy Pond, Rory Williams, and their friendship with the Doctor.  But sometimes I wish their adventures together could have lasted longer, because I miss them, a lot.  I still miss them a lot, so it's hard for me to warm up to Eleven's new companion, Clara Oswald.

Moments (also listed from least recent to most recent):

1)  School Reunion
Sarah Jane Smith

Series 2 Episode 4

I didn't think much of "School Reunion".  The bad guys were computer animated, and poorly animated at that.  Well, I can't really blame the show - after all, Doctor Who has never been known for having a very large budget or having convincing special effects.  That's why it requires suspension of disbelief, imagination, and pretending - it's all pretend.  That's why at times I feel like a little kid again while watching it.  That may be one of the reasons I love it so much.  But one of the things I admire most about Doctor Who is that they make do with what they have, and come up with creative costumes and make-up.  I had hoped they wouldn't resort to computer animation, but even so I wasn't surprised they used it in some episodes, "School Reunion" being one of them.  So needless to say, I wasn't really a fan of this episode.  I didn't hate it; I enjoyed it, but it didn't really stand out for me.  The only part that stood out and made this episode special, was Elisabeth Sladen's return as Sarah Jane Smith, with the Doctor's robot dog, K-9 as well!  Sarah Jane is the best companion ever and I was delighted to see her return.  David Tennant was a big fan of her, so when he saw her for the first time you could really see his childlike excitement at seeing Sarah Jane.

I liked Sarah Jane with the tenth Doctor, but nothing beats her friendship with the fourth Doctor.  Sarah Jane and the fourth Doctor made a great pair.

Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane and Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor.

  2)  Journey's End
Series 4 Episode 13

I'll simply leave these two really good scenes from "Journey's End" here:

3)  Amy's Choice
Amy realizes how much she needs Rory

Series 5 Episode 7

This was an important moment to me.  As a shipper of Amy and Rory (even though I don't have to ship them; they're already married for most of the time, after all), I was pretty happy when Amy realized just how much Rory meant to her.  Really, though, she knew how much he meant to her all along, but in this moment she was fully conscious of it.

4)  Vincent and the Doctor
The museum scene

Series 5 Episode 10

My favorite moment of "Vincent and the Doctor" was the ending, or the museum scene, when Amy and the Doctor take Vincent van Gogh to the art museum.  I don't cry very easily, but I was crying during this scene.  I could feel all of the emotion mounting up until Vincent entered the section of the museum where his art was displayed, and I had to let it all go and cry, because the meaning of it all was so strong.  A mad man with a blue box showed another mad man, in some ways quite similar to himself, how much he was worth to the world, and how his art had gone on to be valued by other generations, and how he had left his mark, and had reached countless people through his art.  In my view this particular moment was one of the best moments ever in television.

5)  The Big Bang
Amy remembers the Doctor
Series 5 Episode 13

Amy:  "Raggedy man, I remember you, and you are late for my wedding!!  I found you; I found you in words like you knew I would; that's why you told me the story, the brand new, ancient blue box.  Oh clever, very clever."
Rory:  "Amy, what is it?"
Amy:  "Something old, something new.  Something borrowed - and something blue."

All I can say is, this scene was beyond epic.  One of my most favorite moments in Doctor Who ever!

6)  The Almost People
The twist ending
Series 6 Episode 6

If you have seen this episode, you know what I am referring to when I say "the twist ending".  I was left speechless.  I wasn't much of a fan of "The Almost People", but the ending made me realize that it was in fact a vital episode.  I still think the ending was superior to the rest of the episode, though.

7)  Asylum of the Daleks
Run you clever boy, and remember
Series 7 Episode 1

"Eggs...ter...min...ate.  Exterminate..."

I have always found the transition between the word "eggs" to "exterminate" to be a clever idea.  The first time I saw the scene above, I got chills.  Clara showed that human feelings make one stronger, not weaker.  She kept in touch with her humanity even when she was forced to become a Dalek, which is usually devoid of love and empathy.  Below is the second scene from "Asylum of the Daleks", which had an impact on me.  I loved how all of the Daleks asked, "Doctor who?", in unison at the end.  It was truly an epic moment.

8)  Angels Take Manhattan
The last page
Series 7 Episode 5

"There's a little girl waiting in a garden.  She's going to wait a long while, so she's going to need a lot of hope.  Go to her.  Tell her a story.  Tell her that if she's patient, the days are coming that she'll never forget.  Tell her she'll go to see and fight pirates.  She'll fall in love with a man who'll wait two thousand years to keep her safe.  Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived.  And save a whale in outer space.  Tell her, this is the story of Amelia Pond.  And this is how it ends."

I don't know why the ending of Amy Pond's story didn't bother me, because it wasn't exactly a happy ending.  It was a bitter-sweet ending, even a tragic ending, from the perspective of the Doctor.  But oddly, I felt very satisfied with Amy's ending.  I felt that the ending of her story completed her journey.

9)  The Snowmen
There is a TARDIS on a cloud, I like to go there in my sleep, aren't any floors for me to sweep, not in my TARDIS on a cloud...
2012 Christmas Special

I vastly enjoyed "The Snowmen".  It might even be my favorite Doctor Who Christmas special, although I have yet to see "A Christmas Carol".  I loved Vastra and Strax, and the Victorian setting, and the Doctor's top hat...basically everything about this Christmas special was great.  But my favorite moment by far, was when Clara climbed up the ladder and found the TARDIS on a cloud.  It was a magical scene (not to mention Clara's theme was playing in the background, which was a nice accompaniment).  I wish I could climb up a ladder and walk on a cloud.

10)  The Rings of Akhaten
The Doctor's speech

Series 7 Episode 7

This was a really impressive scene.  I was impressed with Matt Smith as an actor.  He channeled a lot of emotion in this speech, so I could really feel what he was feeling, and I really believed that he had gone through all of this.  I could see the pain in his eyes and I could feel it in his voice.  The Doctor's Speech was an excellent scene and I will never forget it.  I also really liked the song playing the background, "Wake Up."  This speech reminded me of the weight the Doctor has carried on his shoulders.  It is the curse of the time lords.  Below is a fan video showing the speech with clips of the earlier Doctors of the Doctor Who revival in black and white, accompanied by the song, "Wake Up".

Those are my favorite episodes, scenes, and moments of Doctor Who.  They are all from the revival of Doctor Who, because I have not watched enough of the classic era to create a list of favorite episodes and scenes/moments.  I love Classic Who (as I call it) just as much, but I'm still catching up, and I am finding that to be difficult as Classic Who episodes seem harder to come by.