I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

Three things I could be with a little effort.

A story reader

A tour guide

A Dr Who extra (I had lots of practice sitting around waiting for hours, when I was mum's carer)

Three things I could potentially be, but it would be out of character.

A drunk

A book, theatre or film critic

A truck driver

Three things that I can never be.

A professional writer

A horsewoman

An actress or presenter

MOCK ENCHILADAS

1 pound ground beef (mince)
2 yellow onions, chopped
2 15 1/2 oz cans of kidney or pinto beans, drained
1/4 to 1 tablespoon of chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt
pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1 regular size package of Frito's corn chips--or, 1/2 large bag of Nacho flavour Doritos
1/2 pound of cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons green onion tops, chopped (optional)

In a skillet, brown ground beef with onions, until meat is cooked and onions are soft. Drain off fat. Stir in beans, chilli powder to taste (more if you like it spicy, less if you like it mild), salt, and a small sprinkle of cayenne, if desired. Simmer over very low heat for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 250 degrees. In a greased casserole day, spread half of meat mixture on bottom dish. Top with a layer of Fritos or Doritos, and sprinkle with half the cheese. Repeat the process with the remaining meat, Fritos and cheese. Warm through in oven until cheese melts. If desired, top with green onions before placing in the oven. Serves up to 6 people.

MRS. SPIVEY'S CHICKEN DIVAN

1 10 oz. package of frozen chopped brocolli, cooked
2 firmly packed cups of cooked chicken or turkey, shredded into 2 to 3 inch pieces
2 12 1/2 oz cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup mild cheddar or colby cheese, grated
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon melted butter

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Place a layer of broccolli in the bottom of a shallow, medium size greased casserole dish. Cover with chicken or turkey slices. In a bowl, combine soup with mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry powder. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle cheese over top. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs with melted butter, until slightly moist. Sprinkle over cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. If desired, may be be garnished with strips of pimento or diced fresh tomato.

NEW ENGLAND CHICKEN AND MASH

2 cups cooked chicken shredded
1 can chicken gravy
1 small can baby peas, drained (or, cup cooked fresh or frozen peas)
1 teaspoon onion powder or curry powder
2 cups hot mashed potatoes

In a saucepan, combine chicken, gravy, peas and either onion or curry powder, blending well, Heat through. Serve over hot cooked seasoned mashed potatoes.

...that some blog I began as merely an off-shoot of this one, as a response to upset comments by fan-girls, over cheeky posts I wrote, making fun of David Tennant's fame and fans...just this little nothing blog...only half-witted captions attached to photos of the actor...and suddenly, in the last couple of weeks, I've noticed that people all over the world, are searching Google, Aol, etc., for my specific blog, "Roasting David Tennant."

Usually, people come to my blogs from searches for all kinds of things...or from Google images. It's actually rather rare, for someone to specifically search for the name of one of my blogs. So, seeing that my blog is the search criteria on Feedjit, genuinely surprises me...this is a blog mind you, which until very recently, got only about 80 to 120 views a day. A drop in the bucket, when you think of all the tens of millions of internet users out there, on a daily basis. So, to have someone go out of his or her way, to look for my blog...seems a bit...weird. Not that I'm complaining about it, mind you. It's just a bit of an eyebrow raiser, when you stop to think how very obscure my blog--and myself--are.

"Thank goodnes Rent-A-Kilt had some formalwear in ma' size...should have gone commando though...this thong is chafing me."

So, many of us have been blessed to see The Next Doctor, now what?

I personally have been wondering for months, about the Doctor's next companion, but in a recent interview, RTD states that the Doctor will in fact, be companionless for the four one-hour specials filmed next year--but whether this includes Tennant's final bow as the Doctor, in the 2009 Christmas special, remains to be seen.

Since he has no say in who the next Doctor will be (he's done writing the programme in February, apparently), it's all in Moffatt's hands for 2010 and Series 5...but what will the specials bring us?

It's been hinted that Davies plans a shocker for fans...hopefully nothing so outrageous as to ruin one's suspension of disbelief...so far, he's not gone quite that route, thankfully.

However, I lost a lot of my trust in him, after series 4 episode 12 and its rather callously thought out "surprise" ending..it really upset and floored me, on a weekend when that was, emotionally, absolutely the last thing I needed (I was going through a rough patch that weekend dealing with some bad news, and also got 20 bills from my student lender in the post just that morning)...As most of you now, Dr Who has sort of been my life preserver, something positive to hold on to, when there was nothing else--and, what Davies did to the Doctor, it was such a huge negative emotional jolt, that for the first time in 25 years, it made me re-think how I felt about Dr Who and even caused me to stop writing fan-fiction, and watching it every day, for about four or five months--and yet, for all that, I still love Davie's writing, and can only hope he won't do another shocker, and kill the joy of Who for me, forever. Still, I've got the distinct impression that Davies doesn't really give a damn what us older fans think, and I have to say that I do find that worrysome, at times.

Anyway, moving away from my pathetic little angsts, what will the specials have in store for us? That's almost as closely gaurded as secret as what sort of toilet paper the Queen uses.

Aside from being companionless, supposedly the Doctor will also be Tardis-less for one episode--which if it is indeed being filmed in Tunisa, Spain, Las Vegas or wherever...would certainly make things easier, with one less prop to have to pack along. The rumour--and it is a rumour not a spoiler, is that the Doctor travels back to Galifrey before the Time War...which may make sense--in a way, all the people he will meet are dead in the present series' time. But...who knows?

It's all in Davies' capable hands at the moment...and dependant on whether Tennant's back injury heals speedily and properly...but I wouldn't rule out an appearence by the Daleks, at some point in 2009.

I just had an interesting e-mail sent to me. Someone apparently had read an old post about me horseshoe pitching, and wanted to know what I was talking about. Apparently in his or her part of the UK, they've never done that.

Here in the USA, it is in fact a sport. We have tournements, just like you lot have conker contests. My dad used to play in tourneys every year at the village's annual volunteer fireman's picnic. I wasn't allowed to play, because then...and even now, it's really considered a "butch" sport. Why, I have no idea. It's not as if a horseshoe weighs more than a ten-pin bowling ball..and it's perfectly acceptable for women to bowl.

When I had my caravan, the place where my trailer was installed was in the Adirondack mountains...so, bascially, my yard was full of sand and rocks and pine needles...sort of like a beach, but with Eastern White Pine trees, instead of an ocean...and sand spurs, lots of sand spurs...ouch. Think of little round balls about the size of the fingernail on your little finger..only kitted out with lots of hard, sharp spikes, like a mini-cactus. They weren't bad when they were young..but once the end of summer came and they dried out...it wasn't a fun experience pulling them out of your trainers and jeans, let me tell you!

Anyway, sandspurs and rocks aside, my tiny little yard wasn't good for much..except, that the sand, I discovered one year, made it super easy to make myself a regulation horseshoe pitch. Well, only one...it was just me, so I didn't need two..and, also, with my trailer only about 20 or 25 feet from state route 9-N, I deemed it not a very good idea to have a horseshoe pitch facing the road...horse shoes have a tendency to roll, end over end, and also, if you're careless or tired, and your aim is off, they can fly where you least want them to go. They're not overly heavy, but they can weigh up to 40 ounces (1.133980925 kilograms), so they're not exactly light as a feather, either.

So, one morning I went out in front of the trailer and dug myself a regulation pit, complete with proper sides and a proper spike in the centre. When the mood struck me, I'd go out there and pitch some horseshoes, until I got tired and started doing screwy throws, simply decided to quit. It was very relaxing, got me out into the fresh air...and, well, it was something to do, wasn't it?

Between that, and a dartboard I had attached to the back wall of the caravan, the hiking trail nearby and my bicycle, plus the three town beaches on a lake and river--one of which was just 1 mile away, and also the crazy golf place and local bowling alley--the latter two less than a 10 min. walk up the road...well, come summer I was laughing. Sure, most of the time, the cost of owning my own place kept me from doing the more interesting things up there: whitewater rafting, horseback riding, the amusement parks, etc. But, there was a free rodeo every Saturday night at one of the local dude ranches, and the drive-in cinema just a 20 minute drive away...so, life was good, come summer, in the area where I had my caravan.

The horseshoe pitch and the dartboard also came with one other benefit though: they helped me. No, really. I apparently was born with something called "developmental coordination disorder." Basically, my hand to eye coordination..well, all my coordination, completely sucks. Also, my eye disease has left me with hardly any perhepial vision. What the dartboard and the horsehoe pitch did, was help me to learn to compensate for that. I learned that I can look at things straight on, when I'm throwing them...but, have to move my hand either to the right or the left, or stand slightly differently, to put the object where I want it.

That's why my phys ed teachers always got exasperated with me, 'cos I couldn't do things right. It was in fact, one day while I was out "pitching," that I figured this out on my own. I found that if I did the the things the horseshoe pitching guide was telling me to do--my pitching actually got worse, 'cos of the way I was standing...I found that if I just concentrted on figuring out, where and how to hold my hand--and then not think about my hand, but just concentrate on the "target," that I would make a lot more hits than if I did it the "regulation" way. I think I might have unconciously done that back when I used to practice my roping (lassoeing), way back 25 or 30 years ago.

Here's the rules for horsehoe pitching:

The official horseshoe has a maximum length of 7 1/2 inches and width of 7 inches; the maximum weight is 2 1/2 pounds. Each tip of the shoe is rolled down to form a heel calk, and there is a similar toe calk on the bottom of the closed end. The calks must not extend more than 3/4 inches. The distance between the heel calks must not exceed 3 1/4 inches
The court is 50 feet long and 10 feet wide. The stakes are 40 feet apart (30 feet for women) and 1 inch in diameter and project 12 inches above the ground. They also lean forward 3 inches, away from the perpendicular, toward the pitcher.

In major matches, the first player to score 50 points wins the game. In less formal competition, 21 points is usually game. A match consists of 11 games in official tournaments, and of as many as 35 games in national or world championship tournaments.

Behind the scenes of The Next Doctor (part 1 only)

playwrite27 takes exception to the BBC's idea of a "lasso artist":

Sorry, but the BBC's "lasso artist" just made me laugh. He has to be from Spain or somewhere--he's no real cowboy, that's for sure...for the record, (after you see the video you'll know what I'm referring to)...it's not a "lass-sue" it's pronouced "lass-so" And, futthermore, REAL cowboys NEVER call it that--it's a "rope." It's called "roping," not "lassoing."

You don't lasso somthing, you "throw" your rope at whatever you're aiming at...just like throwing a ball over handed. You don't look anywhere but at the "target" and throw your arm towards it. I've never roped a calf or a steer..did catch a pony once though...and almost got dragged for my trouble. Real ropes (or lassoes, if you insist), are lightweight and stiff--a soft rope doesn't throw as well as a "hard" rope...professional "lassoes" come in different hardnesses and materials--some are natural hemp and some are manmade. The tiny loop, often protected by a piece of leather, which the rope slides through, is called a "honda," or a "hondo."

Morrissey did a crap job of rope throwing--but, he was working with a thicker, softer, and heavier rope than should be used, and he's English and an actor...so, I'll let it slide this time.

I was taught to throw a rope by a real cowboy/horse wrangler, whom I dated, and by an acquintance of mine at the time, a genuine cowgirl who was raised on a Montana ranch. In 1980, I came home from Wyoming with a rope that was given to me, and later bought a practice calf head (yes, cowboys have to practice their roping, just like any other "sport"), and spent time roping it..and tree stumps, chair backs, my dog--who didn't care for that, so I had to stop.