Tweet-Up

Yesterday I attended my inaugural Tweet-Up or Tweet Meet, depending on your preference.

What's a Tweet-Up? Making new friends and acquaintances online is one thing, but meeting them is entirely different! Hopefully it gives people a chance to learn new things, meet even more friends and have a good time away from the online world that we all now and love.

Saturday's Tweet-Up stemmed from an idea proposed by one of my Twitter peeps @LittleLaura! The venue of choice, as suggested by yours truly, was the Apple Store Princesshay, Exeter; anywhere else would have been considered sacrilege!

At Apple Store Princesshay I got up close and personal with the MacBook Air! Still stand by my previous assertion that it's a 'pretty paperweight'! That said, it's the future...

It was great to meet-up with like-minded, and friendly, folk and discuss everything from how long we've been using Mac OS X and the return of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) in last night's episode of Doctor Who to Tim Burton's cinematic oeuvre - Edward Scissorhands is still his most accomplished film-to-date in my subjective opinion - and musicals!

We intend to have a Tweet-Up on a regular basis! If you're actively involved in the social media space (this is the only prerequisite), would like to attend and drink copious amounts of coffee and tea, then please follow me on Twitter or, alternatively, leave a comment on this post!

Special thanks to @LittleLaura and @huskypup. Two Twitter peeps you should be following.

"Sontar-Ha!"

It's May 1st and I need to select a winner for the mimico-sponsored 'give-away' competition! There can only be 1 mimobot Boba Fett winner! The tension is mounting, but I'll announce the winner on May 4th!

Missed out? Don't worry! I'll be running further 'give-away' contests throughout the spring and summer! Fancy winning a copy of AVPR: Aliens Vs Predator - Requiem on DVD? Then enter this competition over at horrorshare.co.uk (unless otherwise stated, I accept no responsibility for the content of any other web site, including any site which may link to or from this site).

The month of May heralds the fourth anniversary of my blogging career! And I can't think of a more auspicious way to mark this milestone than with the most recent Google PageRank algorithm update! This blog is now the beneficiary of a PR5! Absolutely awesome.

Did you enjoy Saturday's Sontaran yarn? It was good fun, and most humorous to see the diminutive potato-headed clones back in full force! The tech noir trappings of The Sontaran Stratagem were most becoming! Can't wait for the action figures!

"...Doctor Why Bother."

**This post may contain spoilers for new Doctor Who**

For those readers who watch The Big Bang Theory, you'll appreciate the title of this post (a quote from The Dumpling Paradox)! And if you haven't watched The Big Bang Theory, you are missing one of the funniest US sitcoms since Friends! Get yourself acquainted with the lives of Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, Rajnesh and Penny pronto! And remember, if you don't go out dancing every Wednesday night, then it isn't dance night!

Tomorrow sees the triumphant return of Doctor Who on UK television screens! Rumours are rife that, alongside the heavily publicised return of the Sontarans, Davros, creator of the Daleks, will be resurrected in the series finale and a Time Lord will fall!

Stay tuned for more Doctor Who coverage during the coming weeks! And, in the meantime, if you're new to Doctor Who and unfamiliar with the Sontarans, may I suggest The Time Warrior (DVD); the first and best Sontaran story to date?

Cats, Jelly Babies, FeedBurner and an iPhone wallpaper!

The last few days have been particularly manic!

Since Friday I've embarked on the process of updating Nick Smith's blog template and publishing his Blogger hosted site to a custom domain name using GoDaddy (you can register domain names from any of a number of different registrars). This is no mean feat when you factor in html coding, FeedBurner, AdSense and Google Webmaster Tools amongst others!

Cat City Online
Cat City Online is the weblog of Nick Smith, author of "Scriptwriting: The Secrets Unleashed," "Milk Treading," "The Kitty Killer Cult" and "Undead on Arrival."

Drop by Nick's new and improved site and leave a comment. He's a good friend and a creative chap...

Memorial
Making further progress with my mother's memorial project! Today Shop@Panasonic, Harlequins Centre, Exeter, pulled through with a Plasma HDTV TH-37PX70, which will be installed at Lucerne House once the refurbishment work on the Alphinbrook Unit is complete! And a Shop@Panasonic staff member recognised me from myentertainmentnews.co.uk (formerly Unit News)! Always a pleasure to meet a fellow Doctor Who/Torchwood fan!

In addition to the plasma television, we've bought a PC, widescreen monitor and a Nintendo Wii (includes Wii Sports)!

The next steps include researching the needs of each resident and costing the peripherals and software needed to facilitate the highest level of transparency! At this stage I have no idea of the total cost - anywhere from £300 to £3000 and beyond! I'll give serious consideration to approaching disabled charities, for extra funding, if my mother's memorial fund falls short.

FeedBurner Help Group
Be sure to visit the brand new official FeedBurner Help Group, which launched last night (GMT), where I'm a Community Expert! I'll help out as much as possible along with my fellow Community Expert peeps Improbulus, Charles LaPage, Mathaba and Franklin Tse.

One last thing...

"Peek-a-boo" wallpaper
I was inspired to create a wallpaper for the iPhone (and it looks cool on iPod touch too)!

"Peek-a-boo" is my cheeky homage to the Apple logo and started life as my Twitter avatar!



More wallpapers to follow.

Three Kings

This is my final post of 2007! May I take this opportunity to thank all my readers and sponsors for their continued support.

If I may focus on sponsors for a moment. I’m excited by the type of companies that this blog has been attracting of late! DK books are worthy of particular mention for providing fabulous competition prizes. If you’re interested in getting your message out to my readership you can contact me here.

Don't miss Doctor Who: The Voyage Of The Damned on Christmas Day!

I wanted to wish you all a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and a Festive Festivus. I hope that 2007 was a good year for you and that 2008 will be even better. I'll be back in the New Year...

The Blu-ray Dream Machine

After 5 years my ageing, but trustworthy, Toshiba SD-520 multi-region DVD player finally stopped working on Tuesday night! Sony's PS3 (60GB Premium Version) price cut, announced on Wednesday, couldn't have been better timed! A backlog of Doctor Who DVDs and a desire to indulge in Blu-ray eye candy notwithstanding!

I most certainly couldn't justify a PS3 purchase at launch! £424.99 was far too high an entry fee! However, the new price, £349.99 (including two selected video game titles) while stocks last, is a veritable bargain! Why? The key selling point is Sony's ongoing firmware update strategy (combined with technological trimmings)! And this month is no exception to that rule!

Not satisfied with adding standard definition DVD upscaling for HDTV. This month's firmware update will usher in Blu-ray Profile 1.1, which includes upgraded interactivity featuring true video picture-in-picture playback, and improved DVD player performance (the 40GB model ships with the latter). Future updates purportedly will be headlined by the highly-anticipated DTS-HD Master Audio upgrade!

Such firmware-based scalability arguably puts the PS3 at the forefront of Blu-ray playback and no other standalone Blu-ray machine can compete at this price point! I can't comment on the intrinsic value or merits of Microsoft's external HD DVD drive for Xbox 360.

Throw in PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility, SACD playback and MemoryStick / SD / CompactFlash connectivity (options only available on the 60GB model) and gadget-geeks (myself included) have an all-in-one multimedia hub worthy of the 5 stars awarded by T3 magazine!

My advice is to invest in the 60GB model, HDMI 1.3 compliant cable and Sony Blu-ray Remote, because the 40GB is nowhere near as good value by comparison! And, while you're at the checkout, be sure to grab a copy of the amazing Spider-Man Trilogy (Blu-ray)!

Stocking Fillers

Christmas comes even earlier this year! Cards, decorations and seasonal promotions are already hitting high street shelves and QVC!

Without further ado, here's my official top 20 holiday gift ideas, traversing books, toys, music, video games and electronic gadgets for all ages:

Please note that these are affiliate links.

1). Nintendo Wii
2). Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
3). iPod nano 8GB
4). iPod touch 16GB
5). iPod classic 160GB
6). Xbox 360 Elite
7). Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
8). PSP Slim and Lite
9). PS3 (60GB Premium Version)
10). Panasonic TX-32LXD700 - 32" Widescreen Viera HD LCD TV
11). Sony KDL32D3000 - 32" Widescreen Bravia HD LCD TV
12). The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS)
13). Transformers Movie - Leader Optimus Prime
14). Be Bratz
15). Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
16). Change Sugababes
17). iLife '08
18). iMac 24" Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz/1GB/320GB/ SuperDrive
19). Doctor Who: The Key to Time (Limited Edition 7-Disc Box set)
20). The Making of "Star Wars"

Newer readers may wish to read:

Review of the Year 2004
Review of the Year 2005
Review of the Year 2006

Stay tuned for Review of the Year 2007 coming this December. Why not subscribe?

The Macra: Masters of Terror

Last Saturday's episode of Doctor Who, Gridlock, refreshingly brought back the dreaded Macra, the celebrated crab-like enemy that Patrick Troughton's Doctor faced, four decades before, in 1967.

This riveting adventure, framed against an homage to Ridley Scott's Bladerunner (Scott was commissioned to design the Daleks (Terry Nation only provided the scantest of descriptions), but passed duties to Raymond Cusick)), reintroduced the Face of Boe and the 'revelation' that the Doctor is not the only Time Lord to have survived the last great Time War with the Daleks!

This lends further, possible, credence to online speculation that The Master is set to return. As noted previously, I remain hopeful that John Simm will indeed play the role!

Life After Mars?

The excellent time-traveling cop drama Life on Mars concluded, controversially, last night on BBC 1! In the tradition of the very best genre series, the ending is deliciously problematic and evocative of seminal semiological tour de force The Prisoner!

Given that I have experienced a coma, following a near-fatal head injury at St Michael’s Nursery & Primary School Kingsteignton in October 1977, which left me paraplegic, I can empathise with Sam Tyler's (dryly played by John Simm) 'Alice in Wonderland' adventure! Incidentally, unlike today's alleged "compensation culture", I received no compensation for my head injury!

Can't wait to see John Simm on Doctor Who. Who's betting he'll be playing the Doctor's brother, and arch nemesis, The Master? Russel T Davies make it so!

ATV

Whilst perusing YouTube, now owned by Google, I found the following video, which showcases Apple TV in all its diminutive gorgeousness.



Will Apple TV combine the small footprint of the Mac mini with iPod gaming and succeed where Apple/Bandai Pippin failed? I must confess that the idea of watching streamed episodes of Doctor Who, and listening to the soundtrack, via Apple's solution, would be compelling with the addition of built-in HDD and Blu-Ray support!

Still no sign of iTunes 7.1 or Mac OS X 10.4.9! However, if the rumours are to be believed, these updates are imminent as is the advent of movie and television content in Europe!

Sleigh Ride

Part two of my Review of the Year.

*Album - Future Sex / Love Sounds. Justin Timberlake (aided and abetted by Timbaland) finally puts to rest any doubts as to the identity of the new King of Pop! Runners up: The Sound Of Girls Aloud: Greatest Hits (Girls Aloud) and Loose (Nelly Furtado).

*Single - Promiscuous. Nelly Furtado's stellar follow-up to Maneater needs no introduction! Runners up: Fergalicious (Fergie) and Rock Steady (All Saints).

*Movie - Adrift. An unrelenting study of fair-weather friendship set against the backdrop of the ocean. Runners up: Superman Returns and Pirates Of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest.

*DVD - Dungeons & Dragons. Runners up: Doctor Who - The Complete Series 2 Box Set and Lost - The Complete Second Series.

*Television Drama - Battlestar Galactica. Last year's winner recaptures the number one spot with the coolness of a Cylon agent! Runners up: Bones and Lost.

*Television Sci-Fi - Doctor Who. No change. Runners up: Battlestar Galactica and Torchwood.

*Merchandise - Doctor Who - Tardis Electronic Playset. Character Options continues to produce products worthy of everyone's favourite Time Lord! Runners up: Marvel Legends and Star Wars Transformers.

Cyber Monday

Yesterday's Sunday Times Business section featured an article on Cyber Monday! The term Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving and the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday online shopping season.

Similar to Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year when retail stores often offer significant discounts, Cyber Monday has in recent years become a busy day for online retailers, and one in which online stores offer similarly low prices and promotions. It has gained cache since the 2005 holiday season.

Unlike bricks-and-mortar, my online stores are open 24/7:

Disney Shop
Doctor Who Shop
PlayStation Shop
Wii Shop
Xbox 360 Shop

Looking for The Legend of Zelda merchandise? Here's Link!

The Entertainer

In time for the holiday season, let me introduce The Entertainer.

The Entertainer is the largest independent retailer of toys in the UK, with over 25 years offline and 8 years online experience. The brand ‘The Entertainer’ has been well established amongst parents through its network of 41 stores.

The Entertainer’s target audience is young children to late teens together with a small adult market (via board games). The product range includes many brand names such as Bratz, Doctor Who, Pixel Chix, Tamigotchi, Playmobil, Thomas & Friends, Hasbro, Mattel, Lego, Hornby, Star Wars, TP Activity Toys , MB Games, Barbie, Fisher Price, TOMY, Play-Doh, Heelys and many more.

Creating Fireworks

A couple of months ago I wrote a post that documented the chronology of my web designing adventures to date. To recap. My workflow includes (but is not limited to) Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Photoshop, BBEdit and, on the very rare occasion that Dreamweaver outwits me, GoLive CS.

Until recently Photoshop has been my preferred end-to-end image editor. However, Ryan referred me to Fireworks! Never one to ignore his good advice, I took a closer look and am hooked on its balanced compression. So much so that eagle-eyed readers will have noticed the bespoke Forbidden Planet animated GIF above my first post! Adobe would be unwise to retire Fireworks.

Off topic. Please be sure to visit Cloister Bell for my latest musings on Doctor Who, Lost and cool collectibles.

The Feast of Steven

Clever title, eh? Refers to the Doctor Who episode (taken from the Dalek's Master Plan) broadcast on Christmas Day 1965.

Although shattered from a busy Christmas Day with relatives, I managed to watch The Christmas Invasion at 1:30AM this morning (sky+ delivered)! A terrific yarn filled to the brim with pop culture and current affairs references - Torchwood has ominous pretensions, transforming the Earth into a Death Star. Even the beauty of snow fall was undermined by its true nature - burning ashes from the destroyed spacecraft.

Unsurprisingly David Tennant and Billie Piper's chemistry remains undiluted by the regeneration and, if anything, the mythology is now taking flight. Tennant is as alien as he is enigmatic and epitomizes Tom Baker's classic line from The Pyramids of Mars (1975) "I'm not a human being; I walk in eternity..."

The series two teaser induced chills and excitement: the return of Sarah Jane Smith, an art deco Cyberman and Buffy's Anthony Stewart Head (surely he's the Master?).

Deck the Halls

With the holidays now upon us, regular postings will most likely dry up! Therefore I wanted to wish you all a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and a Festive Festivus.

UK readers don't forget to set your VCR, DVD-R and PVR to record Doctor Who. The Christmas Invasion starts at 7:00PM on BBC1 Christmas Day. David Tennant looks set to eclipse even the brilliance of Christopher Eccleston.

Thank you for reading and please stay tuned via RSS for more pop culture goodness in 2006.

My Favorite Things

Part two of my Review of the Year.

*Album - The Emancipation Of Mimi. After several years in the wilderness Mariah Carey captures R&B magic in a bottle. Runners up: Chemistry (Girls Aloud) and Come And Get It (Rachel Stevens).

*Single - Biology. Those Girls Aloud produce another pop opus. Runners up: You're Beautiful (James Blunt) and Push The Button (Sugababes).

*Movie - Batman Begins. The dark genesis of everyone's favorite psychologically damaged vigilante. Runners up: Revenge of the Sith and War of the Worlds.

*DVD - Lost and Doctor Who Season One Boxsets. This was too close to call! Runners up: Battlestar Galactica and Desperate Housewives.

*Television Drama - Battlestar Galactica. Dangerous and dry sci-fi that avoids the simplicity of the Star Trek franchise. Runners up: Desperate Housewives and Lost.

*Television Sci-Fi - Doctor Who. A slumbering Whovian was stirred by Russell T. Davies, Billie Piper and golden Daleks. Runners up: Battlestar Galactica and Lost.

*Merchandise - 12" R/C Dalek from toy powerhouse Character Options. This year's Buzz Lightyear is the definition of 'must-have'. However, may I direct your attention to the Assault Dalek (with Claw) sold through Toys R Us! This variant is limited to 5000 units worldwide. Runners up: General Grievous Wheel Bike and Transformers Darth Vader.

Dishing The Dirt

Some Xbox 360 consumers are reporting technical issues with the new console; power cords overheating and system crashes. However, spare a thought for the not-so-Newlyweds Nick and Jessica! An American divorce...

Alias is to end after 5 seasons.



Lost, Battlestar, Doctor Who and Desperate Housewives will fill the void vacated by Sydney Bristow

The Ultimate answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is...

42 and Happy Birthday Doctor Who. Over four decades ago An Unearthly Child was broadcast in the aftermath of US President John F. Kennedy's assassination. I still have vivid memories of the Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks and The Pyramids Of Mars (circa 1974/75)!

It pays to search eBay listings. Early this morning I purchased a brand new 5" R/C Dalek (£29.99 inc P&P)! The 5" model from Character Options is a limited edition and its market value is higher than the 12" R/C. However, whether it is worth £75 is relative.

Character Options will be extending their 5" Doctor Who range to include the following:

*Pack 1 - The Tenth Doctor (in his 'signature' outfit with long overcoat and Sonic Screwdriver accessory.

*Pack 2 - Rose Tyler and K-9

*Pack 3 - Intergalactic Warlord, the Sycorax Warrior complete with two weapons.

*Pack 4 - A double pack of Lady Cassandra and Moxx of Balhoon

*Pack 5 - A Slitheen action figure - with extendable claws that can be slid out from its finger ends.

*Pack 6 - Radio controlled K-9 and Tenth Doctor double pack.

*Pack 7 - TARDIS console room playset. Six buttons control around ten sound effects plus chair, hat stand and lift-out access panels in the floor to reveal the TARDIS mechanisms and circuitry.

The granddaddy of them all, The Emperor Dalek, will be available exclusively from Toys R Us online.

Still wondering whether or not you should purchase the Character Walkie-Talkies? Don't hesitate any longer! The likeness of both the Doctor and Slitheen are superb and eclipse Hasbro's hyped methodology! Go on, you know you want to play with these.



Pop Princess Rachel Stevens (isn't anyone buying her excellent album?) is rumored to be in the Doctor Who franchise spin-off Torchwood with John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness). Torchwood is described as 'adult', not necessarily a positive connotation. Perhaps BBC PR should seek more articulate adjectives?

Silver Nemesis

For me Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis' creation is second only to Darth Vader. The new droid-like Cybermen are instantly recognizable. The official BBC website welcomes visitors with a metallic klaxon. I can already hear the Earthshock score composed by the late Malcolm Clarke!



Will David Banks (Cyber Leader) and Mark Hardy (Cyber Lieutenant) once again be entombed in cyber armor? Rumor has it that this tale will hark back to the Patrick Troughton era.

The Snowman is an original story idea featuring a solitary Cyberman (see Marvel comics Doctor Who Issues 58-59 Junk-Yard Demon) whom is discovered, deactivated, in the grounds of a country house estate. I had intended producing an audio drama (Bournemouth University 1994) and am considering whether or not to release it as a podcast in the New Year.

My copy of Madonna's Confessions On A Dancefloor has arrived! As I listened to the new album for the first time, I was editing lines of html code and optimizing the blog template! The review will be published next week.