I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

In a big drug bust yesterday in the city of Hudson Falls, New York--a known drug pipeline siphoning drugs from Montreal and New York City, to Vermont and other parts of New England--a known dealer was arrested following a lengthy police investigation---the dealer's name: Jaques Moron. Very appropo, dont'cha think?

I've been supporting this charity since I was a wee child. I remember when the Hudson River was so polluted, that turds were floating on it, and dead fish were everywhere. Now, the river is cleaner than it has been in decades: thanks largely to a group of dedicated people, sailing up and down the (navagatable portion for a masted vessel)) of the Hudson River, promoting enviornmental causes such as: clean waterways, clean drinking water and wildlife preservation.

The sloop clearwater began as the brainchild of a small group of what were then termed as "hippies," and has since grown to be a mass movement supported by millions of New Yorkers and even the national community. It's a prime example of just how much power a grass roots effort can generate. From a single idea, a clean river was born.

Internationally famous 1960's folk singer and Hudson Valley native Pete Seeger (the Weavers), was a shining light of the movement, docking the sloop up and down the river, giving concerts with his friends, and raising money for cleaning up the river. My first experience was when I was around 10 years old. The first donation I ever made from my own money, was into the donation barrel on the dock next to the sloop, at a Clearwater concert at the Rennsalear Yacht Club. Somewhere in the family photos, there's a photo of me at age 17, standing in front of Clearwater, docked on the Hudson in Albany, NY.

Today, the sloop continues to promote a clean river, offering charity cruises up and down the river at various locations, from New York Harbour to the Port of Albany. Most recently, they are doing a "Pirate" cruise for the Halloween holiday.

http://www.clearwater.org

The news has hit the papers, sthat David Tennant will be continue playing the Doctor until at least 2011! Hoo-ray! That's the very best news I've had all week! Thank you David Tennant!

ADDENDUM:

Sorry, it appears the newspaper that published the article that he was going to sign for another term as the Doctor, was a bit premature (like that's never happened), and Tennant publicly announced tonight that he is definitely leaving, that he will film his last stint as Doctor Who in January.

Doesn't mean I'm gonna' stop my DT captions blog though, sorry.

I was recently asked about my celebrity crush..told the person I didn't have one. "Not even David Tennant?" She gasped (or probably would have, if we were talking in person, and not online),

"But, you must have a celebrity you love?"

Erm...well....I like Lassie. (Who has been always played by a boy dog, btw)

I mean, he's cute, obedient, loyal, loving and...he's got nicer body hair than David Tennant...and more neatly combed, too...and, I could shake hands with him, without being crushed by ten million screaming fan-girls...and I'll bet he doesn't fart half as much as Tennant supposedly does.

Just spent a half hour typing something in my blog--and the stinking computer abruptly kicked me out...and did bcuk actually save my work? NO. They never do. It always (MAYBE) save the first sentence...and deletes everything else.

Oh well, if I've a mind to, I'll finish it tonight.

so...all the weather men in the area, running around like Chicken Little's with acorns dropping on their heads, yelling that the sky is falling...or rather, that we're to get this really bad rain/snow/wind storm all day today...HA!

Not only haven't we got that 50 mph wind...no rain...or snow, either! It's just brightly overcast and cold... 33 F. Oh, big deal then...still, I get to wear jeans to work, 'cos they can hardly recind the casual dress day for the bad weather, just cos the weather man got it wrong again.

Of course, we may actually get the storm later in the day or evening...but, though it's overcast...it's not dark, and looks more like it's clearing a bit.

Like I always say folks, better off just sticking your head out the bloomin' windows! I guess predicting northeastern New York weather, is a bit like piloting the Tardis...bit iffy where you're gonna' land.

In New York city alone, the average life expectancy of a carriage horse is four years...after that, the horse usually goes to slaughter.

The average working life expectancy of a New York City police horse...fifteen years.

Every year, carriage horses around the world--New York City, Lake George New York, Philadelphia, Mexico City, Luxor, the Bahamas, and other parts of thw world are maimed and/or killed outright, for no other reason than sheer neglect and abuse.

Some cities have understood the horrors these animals are forced to live through, and have stopped the abuse by banning carriage horses: London, Paris and Toronto.

I won't list the horror stories here...to find out more, or to support the humane treatment of these horses, go here:
http://www.equineadvocates.com/carriage.html

Another Central Park carriage horse dies...

NOTE: I should add that most PRIVATE carriage services--such as those used for wedding hire and other special events, are generally not at all like the tourist carriage operations. Private hire horses are often from a two to six horse farm, and these horses are often treated like members of the family--I am acquainted with two such private hire people, and know they both treat their horses well, giving them not only good care, but careful training for unexpected road conditions.

WHO MEME?

1. The first character I first fell in love with: Oooh, has to be Tom Baker. What a fun, interesting, mysterious and adventureous character! (bit like what drew me to Tennant's character, actually)

2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

Ace. I thought a tough, almost punk-ish companion wasn't right for Who, but Sophie made it work, and I really loved the unusual interaction with Ace and the Doctor.

3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t:

Rose Tyler. I didn't like the character. I mean, Billie made it work, and I grew a lot more fond of Rose over time--Billie did a brilliant job with the role...it's not Billie, or even "Rose," it's me...I just can't relate that well to the character...and truth to tell, I'm really, really, really not into soap opera type stories, which also had something to do with it...Rose's relationship with the Doctor was borderline soap opera-ish. Though I suppose from an acting point of view, and maybe even from a writing point of view, soap opera-ish stories can be more interesting to do. It's just not...me.

4. The character I love that everyone else hates:

A lot of people--especially younger people, and people perhaps too familiar with her comic characters, seemed to outright hate Catherine Tate. Yet, I truly loved her. She's my favourite companion of all time--and now, one of my favourite actresses, as well. I think she's enormously talented, intelligent and very witty, besides. Any human with that lovely a sense of humour is a big hit with me, anyway. Oh, and she's much prettier than Billie and Freema (sorry girls--not that you are in any way unattractive, you're pretty, too!)

5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

Victoria. I liked her a lot at first...but then the screaming got bit much...kept wishing the Doctor would stop being so damn polite and just reach over and give her a bit of a happy-slap to settle her down.

6. The character I would shag anytime:

Shagging a Doctor isn't my thing, sorry fan-girls.

7. The character I’d want to be like

Donna...loved her...she was nearly my age (no idea how old Ms. Tate is, but reckon her to be definitely quite a few years under my own 48)

8. The Companion I love most from the old series:

Oh, Sarah Jane. What a peach! She was a companion ahead of her time.

9. Favourite gadget/prop:

Tie between the good ol' sonic key/screwdriver, and K-9

10. Favourite non-Doctor Time Lord:

Gosh, guess it's a tie between the Master and Romana.

11. Favourite three villains from the old series:

Davros, the Master and the Zygons

12. From the new series:

the new Daleks--a lot of people didn't like the flying bit...but gosh, didn't I find that creepy, oh yes. Let's see...the Satan-monster...great! And Mr Finch...would love to see him come back...very evil dude.

If you could be any person in the world, who would you be, and why?

I'd like to be a comic actress or a radio presenter. Totally unrealistic of course, but, there ya' go. I really like working with my voice, and I love it when I can make people smile or laugh--doesn't happen nearly often enough to suit me.

Describe a place you remember from your childhood.

The teahouse in the old formal Victorian gardens that were right behind our back yard. It was just a screen building housing some cupboards and a BBQ pit, that had been built sometime in the 1930's or 40's. It was made of brown wood, and had a green semi-transparent wave roofing--I was told once by the estate's gardener, that it was a form of bakelite and actually quite rare (by the late 1970's), but not knowing about such things I cannot say. The floor was paved inside with yellow bricks--no, I didn't live in Kansas. I remember the smell--piney and deeply musty...sort of like a cellar smell. We kids from our street used to hang out there, and tell ghost stories about it...that there was a ghost in one of the cupboards. It was sort of spooky, I suppose...which might sound odd, considering it was just a glorified screened patio with a roof. In my late teens, I would go there alone, on rainy days, and just sit and admire the sights and sounds and smells of a garden and pines in the rain. Later, two local boys vandalized the place but good, and it was torn down--I resuced some of those yellow bricks though, and they later became my own little outdoor fireplace, which was well-used and treasured until my last autumn in my family home, in 1983.

What would have happened if you didn't leave the house this morning?

I would have likely been written up as a "no-call, no-show," and possibly even fired from my job.

If you could visit anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go?

Hmm--either to europe to visit my friend, or if not that, pehaps to stratford to see Hamlet, or maybe barring that, at least to Cardiff to see the Dr Who exhibit, if it's still there...barring that, I'd like to go horseback riding somewhere...or maybe to a really good museum.

What hobbies do you, and have you had? Why do you like them?

First hobby was stamps, when I was about 11...didn't last long, boring.

I had a model train set in my early teens, forget exactly how old I was...was into it for a couple of years, then moved on for some reason....got back into it briefly in the mid-90's, even going so far to start building a detailed layout...realistic riding stable, pastures, stream, road, hills, trees, etc...but then life changed and I had to let it go..very reluctantly, I may add. Still long for the money, materials and room for a model rail layout...not gonna' happen, but...one of the few daydreams I still have. It's a brilliant hobby, I might add.

If reading is a hobby, I've been a voracious reader since I was about 13 and mum enrolled me in a kid's book club that mailed a horse book to me every month. Got the reading bug and never lost it.

At 14 I found an antique bottle in the nearby woods--mum got a book on antique bottles out of the library for me...my bottle was in there (and worth 4 whole dollars, besides) and I got the antique bottle collecting bug for about 15 years--for a while quite the expert, evenually acting as a docent and tour guide for the National Bottle Museum.

From 19 to about 25, I was an amateur local historian, doing reams of extensive research--both on site and in local and state libraries and through interviews... and am sort of an expert (tho not as much as I used to be, with the passage of time) on a nationally historic local cemetery.

Am a semi-expert on antique saddles--particularly American one's. And also know a bit about other equestrian collectables and antiques. Over the years I've own a half-dozen antique and collectable saddles, and many other types of collectables. Today, I only own a 1950's signed western bit, a late 1700's Spanish-Colonial horse bit, a posh early 20th century fox hunting riding crop, an orignial (contemporary to the 1900's) post card showing the world's most priceless western saddle (studded with diamonds, silver, gold and rubies and all hand carved), and a 1900's western brass-studded pony bridle with the orginal curb bit.

I have been know to dabble in silk floral arrangements, and have won prizes at the Saratoga County Fair for them, including two special awards for "most original" and "Lady of the Fair" (a floral decorated ladies hat competition). I took a floral design course in my early 30's. I'd do floral design for a living, but the pay is crap (worse than McDonalds) and it's really hard to find jobs--precisely the same reason I opted not to get into radio work.

I presently collect model horses...mainly miniatures (about 2 to 3 inches high), but have a few in larger sizes.

Ideally, I'd love to collect Dr Who stuff, but that's just not possible.

What is the greatest lesson you've learned so far in this life?

Well, sounds a bit bitter, but I have learned that realistically, you really cannot depend on anything or anyone at all--the floor can drop out from under you at any given point and time--and that's just the way life is.

How would you spend a found $20 bill?

I wouldn't. It's not mine I don't keep things that aren't mine. My sister doesn't agree with that. I once found a 20 in the car park at a local grocery store, and turned it in to the store's office without even thinking about it--my sister railed at me for days that I was bonkers, that the store clerk would just pocket it sooner or late. Very probably she was right, still...I would never rest easy knowing that it might belong to some little old lady, or some poor mum, and that it might be his or her last twenty--of course, sis said that it probably belonged to some rich yuppie who wouldn't even miss it--again, probably right, still...not mine, and that's that. I am not a saint, I'm not this morally self-righteious (at least I don't think so) person, it's just how I feel about it.

How old would you be if you didn't know your real age?

Ey? I'm as old as however many years it's been since I was born, yeah?

Or do you mean, how old would I think I was? Erm--right now? That'd be about ten years older, 58.