an exercise in percussive maintenance
Saturday we met the Twelfth Doctor for the first time. As I’ve declared this official Doctor Who week on if all else fails… in honour of the new Doctor, I can hardly let the actual episode pass without comment, now can I?
I must point out there will be spoilers in this post, so if you haven’t yet watched Deep Breath you might want to bookmark this post for now and come back later after you’ve seen the episode.
Guinan, the bartender aboard the Federation Starship Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation, is hundreds of years old. In the episode, Yesterday’s Enterprise, she is able to sense it when the timeline changes. She met Picard five centuries before Picard meets her. And the Enterprise has holodecks which are bigger on the inside. Discuss.
It’s time for this week’s Song Title Challenge.
Write a short piece of fiction, around 300 words, using the song title as your story title but don’t listen to the song. You can pick your own genre or use the one suggested to me. Remember to link back to this post so I can find yours.
If you would like to suggest a song title for a future post, you can do so from the challenge page. You can also leave a suggestion on the Facebook page.
I just knew bumblepuppies would ignore my assertion that I’m not writing any more children’s books and he didn’t disappoint (you’re becoming predictable, sir). But I’m getting my own back. In honour of the new Doctor I’ve officially declared this week official Doctor Who week on if all else fails... so make yourselves ready for a Doctor Who children’s story, using a song from The Rocky Horror Show. bumblepuppies should have known better than to give me Let’s Do The Time Warp Again.
Continue reading “Song Title Challenge #62: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again from The Rocky Horror Show”
Finally, after eight excruciating months of waiting, the time has finally come. In a few minutes the world will meet the twelfth (thirteenth? (fourteenth??)) Doctor, this time played by Peter Capaldi.
It’s amazing how the Doctor managed to infiltrate our lives since the show was revived almost a decade ago. He is fast becoming an almost mythical character. Possibly it’s the novelty of a character that constantly changes his face while remaining the same person, the paragon of re-invention. Perhaps it’s the way Doctor Who exploits that most remarkable ability of Science Fiction to use the fantastical to show us our everyday selves in a new light. Maybe it’s just that it’s so incredibly fun, taking geekdom mainstream like Star Trek and Middle Earth has never been able to do.
Welcome to the first-ever instalment of Percussive Etymology. In this feature, which will initially publish once a fortnight, my trusty hammer and I will explore the origins of one of the many quirky phrases contained in the English language.
I’m kicking this off with the phrase, “Gumming up the works”. Why? Because a couple of weeks ago the phrase, along with the idea for this feature, simply popped into my head while I was in the shower. Some people sing in the shower, some solve mathematical formulae, I think up wacky blog ideas that will probably not survive until the end of the year.
Got your hammer? Then hold on tight!
Continue reading “Percussive Etymology – Gumming Up the Works”
if all else fails...use a hammer 