You'll already be well aware of the gaps between each of my posts and that I am struggling to write anything creatively at the moment. Also with my dreaded exams coming, they fail to escape my mind for long. So I don't think I'm going to have time to write anything until after my exams, so I wouldn't get your hopes up for any kind of post before the end of May.
In other news, 17th March marks the day I have turned 16. So I can now do number of things, such as buying a goldfish. I had an awesome weekend with two groups of my friends. I got to see "The Lego Movie" (it's (awesome by the way), I got some great gifts and just had a really fun time. Then on the Monday the fun times continued and I found my day at school to be surprisingly unstressful.
Anyway, so you wont be hearing from me for a while but I hope you are all feeling well and if any of you are going to be sitting exams soon I do hope that they prove to be successful.
Hello everyone, I hope you are all well and I am well aware that I have deprived you of anything to read on this blog for a while and on a number of occasions. This is not a post to justify that, as there wouldn't be very much to say, I have just struggled to write anything. I do have a few posts that are still a work in progress, even then, I just haven't been able to find the inspiration to write. The stress that school alone has put on me, with my final exams drawing ever so closer I hope you wont blame me for not having the blog fully on my mind.
Only, when the blog has been on my mind, I have felt determined to produce something on it and often had no result. Luck presented itself as an old personal reflective essay I wrote in third year, when we had to write about ourselves and it was when my teacher suggested that I could write about an interesting discover I had made that brought this essay to life. I thought it might be of interest to you and I was quite relieved to be honest-that I wouldn't have the added pressure of thinking up a whole post from scratch.
I have been known to have some confidence issues, I do sometimes contradict myself when I'm trying to write or whatever, even now when I look back at these paragraphs, I don't like how slightly cheesy or simplistic it is, but I'm not going to focus my attention on it. Even this essay isn't greatly written, but I am quite happy with it and it would be wrong to change it, take away the history from it. So yeah, here's a little look into my past and I hope you enjoy your visit.
Personal Reflective Essay
In this essay, I shall tell you of my interesting discovery that took me back about 100 years in the past. To do with the great work of my great, great, great, great uncle Paddy Black, as a missionary. Included in this essay is also what happened before and to lead up to this, and how this interesting discovery affected me afterwards.
It was late Saturday evening, less than two years ago.Midnight was close to taking center stage; my grandmother and I watched T.V and I was determined to not allow the unsatisfactory programs, push me to go to my bed. One thought stood in my mind; one that managed to grasp my attention on many occasions. Do I belong to a creative family? With my interests in creative writing and notable work in that area, had this surge of creativity been passed down from previous relatives? Also, had one of my relatives made a significant mark in their time? The best I received from my gran was that an old relative of mine who was a well know folk singer; surely my family be more interesting than that? Luck stroke midnight.
My grandmother had a blurry memory of some uncle; she had trouble placing whether he was an uncle to me or her. She carried to tell me of a man named Paddy Black, who did good work as a missionary many years ago. My ears captured every word and my mind was intrigued to know more. We lost all hope to finding every detail from the files of her brain so the internet became the last resort. My vigorous fingers typed his name into the laptop; my eyes grew disappointment as the only links that came up were brand names for different products. Luck stroke again when a link called “Paddy Black Memorial Mission”, guided my way into my uncle’s time.
The year was 1906, the sound; nothing. The fact that no sound accompanied the video reinforced the idea of how old it was.At this time in the 20th century, being poor was almost a “trend” of the age. Children would be found shoe-less; their bare feet poisoned by the damp concrete pavement caused by the typical rain of Glasgow. It was a rare thing for families to visit the park or the countryside, as they were so far away. Just like money was far from being grasped in their hands. Paddy Black decided to make a difference; with the donations of the community, he was successful in taking 250 children from the Gorbals to the countryside. Sixteen years later (1922) he excelled to an even greater achievement. Again, with donations, my great uncle managed to take 2,500 children to the park. Supplied with pastry and milk in a small paper bag they called a “purvey”. It was such a rare happening, that they turned it into a joyous event. The whole journey taken was like a massive parade. What sadden me the most was that I was unable to her the sound of the marching bands or the children being carried in horse carts and Lorries. Behind me, I could hear my grans childish laughter and began to appreciate the saying “make your own entertainment” more when my gran pointed out some of the things she did as a child which they did as well. Another notable fact which sadden me, was that the food given to them would probably be the only meal the consumed that day. Even now, I still puzzle on what park they went to. It was humorous, as despite the cramped conditions, everyone still enjoyed themselves. As the video drew to an end, I felt he very barley featured in the film; giving the impression that despite everything he did, praise was not his aim.
Once I had finished digging into my great uncles past, my grandmother showed her gratitude. Then, some weeks later, I gifted my mother and father with the rare look into the past. My parents were also very grateful, in the knowledge that even now, Paddy Black makes people happy. After watching the video, I knew comfort was assured once I went to bed. My path towards the dream world would not be blocked by any upsetting thoughts.
To conclude, my deep look into the past offered me a new perspective of my relatives and of that time period. I try to take every opportunity to inform people of his work and how significant it was in his time, even though it may not seem so significant now. Sometimes I feel like it is my duty to honor his name. I remember the past and feel that I must do more to help others. He wasn't a hero, he wasn't a folk singer, he wasn't a soldier; I’m glad he wasn't because that makes his work all the more significant. He was Paddy Black, the missionary and he was my interesting discovery.
February 1st, marks the birthday of the late Elizabeth Sladen who sadly passed away on April 21st 2011. Best known for her portrayal of companion Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who, she become a role model to millions of people. The journalist entered the Whoniverse when she encountered The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) in the serial "The Time Warrior" in 1973, which was also the first ever appearance of the classic monster The Sontarens, and revealed the name of The Doctors home planet as being Gallifrey. Sarah Jane redefined the role of the companion, from being rather helplessly hysteric to being a feisty, opinionated, strong, equal to The Doctor and elements of her can be seen in every companion afterward, down to current companion Clara Oswald. At that time, that was not the role a companions or women were meant to play. It was an extraordinary thing to do at the time, before Liz Sladen, they played the victim or were just used as decoration, but what she did with the character showed women as equals to men. As recurring Doctor Who writer Toby Whitehouse says: "we forget how revolutionary she was at the time."
In the series 11 final "Planet of the Spiders" (1974) viewers bid farewell to another Doctor and welcomed Tom Baker to take over as The Fourth Doctor. Sarah Jane continued to travel with our favorite timelord, where she met four of the most iconic monsters/villains in Doctor Who in Tom's first series alone: The Daleks, The Cybermen, The Sontarens and Davros. In the following series she met a fan favorite The Zygons, in their first and last appearance until the 50th Anniversary Special last year. It was the next series in which Sarah Jane had her final adventure with The Fourth Doctor in "The Hand of Fear" before she had to leave because The Doctor had been summoned to Gallifrey by the timelords and no human was allowed entrance. She was brought back to her hometown in South Croyden,,,when in actual fact, she found herself in Aberdeen. Oh Doctor.
Thirty decades and five Doctors later, 2005 brought the relaunch of the much loved Sci-fi drama after having been cancelled for sixteen years. In 2006, David Tenants first series as the Tenth Doctor entailed a reunion with Miss Smith, and a particular metal dog. K9 was a robot dog that joined The Doctor and Sarah as well other companions on many adventures, before a new model of K9 was given to Sarah in episode three "School Reunion" after he had sacrificed himself to defeat the bat like Krilitains. Despite an offer to travel through time and space once more, she declined, as she had come to realize there were plenty of adventures to have on Earth... defeating aliens, unironically. Before her return once again in the series four final "The Stolen Earth" and "Journeys End" Russel T Davies created a spin-off show in 2007, all about the journalist. Defending aliens with her adopted clone son Luke and his friends on Bannoman Road. 2009 leading into 2010 brought the final battle of Ten and in her brief glimpse of The Doctor before he left, it was only a stare that told her he was going to change and brought tears to fans eyes. Her final onscreen adventure with The Doctor was with our beloved bow tie wearing Eleventh Doctor in 2010... at his funeral, well sort of.
One year later, family, freinds and fans of all ages were devastated to hear the news that she had lost her battle with cancer at the age of 61. Two days before the start of series six, and straight after the episode aired, a special dedicated to her was aired on CBBC. Elizabeth Sladen changed Doctor Who for the better, and even for fans a new, she immediately sealed herself onto our hearts. Her acting ability was unmatched, in the smallest of scenes, she made them feel big. One tear from Sarah Jane left fans completely heartbroken and a moment of chuckles filled them with joy. Elizabeth Sladen was an absolute sensation, she really was and she will continue to be remembered as such, because it is no exaggeration. Thank you. Thank you Elizabeth Sladen not for just being an amazing actress and role model to millions of people, but for being my Sarah Jane: "t'ill we meet again Sarah."
Happy New Year everyone. I hope 2014 will bring you all many days of awesomeness. At the start of the new year, we recollect on the great times we had in the past year as well as all the hardships, and some people may think it best to not look at the worst parts of the year gone by but in a way, isn't that the whole point? Humans cannot help themselves but dwell on any worries they had, any lingering regrets, any mistakes made, etc. However, when looking over the hardships we have faced over the year, we recall what helped us survive them; what helped us defeat them; what helped us reach today and still have the energy to face the next day. We look at the aid that was given to us in our hours of need, and we use it to help us develop, to help us fight any obstacles that we come across and help us become better people.
2013 was not only a special and significant year for me, but for billions of other people all over the world. To name a few things that have made a big impact on 2013: Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary (including the departure of Matt Smith as The Eleventh Doctor and the introduction of Peter Capaldi as the Twelth), the sad passing of the wonderful Nelson Mandela, the birth of a new royal baby to be third in line for the throne, the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, the typhoon that hit the Philippines and so much more.
2014 will be the bringer of many significant events. The Commonwealth in my home city of Glasgow; the Scottish Independence referendum on September 18th; series 8 of Doctor Who with Peter Capaldi taking over as The Doctor and the third Scottish actor to play the role; after a two year wait Sherlock series 3 starts on January 1st at 9pm; Winter Olympics to be held in Russia and so on.
Obviously living in Scotland, the first two upcoming events of 2014 to which I mentioned, will have a great affect on my day to day life. I have no doubt that the Commonwealth will be a great event and will make me proud to be Scottish. As for the vote for or against independence, I will be 16 by the time that the voting starts, so I will be eligible to vote and I personally will vote no for Scottish Independence. I wont start ranting about it or try and persuade any Scottish readers to agree with me, but all I'll say is that I just feel we are stronger as a part of the UK Anyway, though I may still be heartbroken by the departure of The Eleventh Doctor, I excitedly await for the proper arrival of The Twelth Doctor and anticipate what the next 50 years of Doctor Who will bring.
I have had many very special moments in 2013, some that I will hold close to my heart for many years to come but I have also suffered many difficult situations. It was a great surprise for me to have made so many more friends, I thought after 2nd year that process of making new friends will draw dormant, whereas in actual fact upon joining Nerdfighters I met tons of people who I now hold as my dearest friends and even at school as well I have been given more friends. Maybe the multitude of friends I have made are more than I deserve? Whether or not this is true, I am still hugely grateful to have met them. Obviously, with Doctor Who being very special to me 2013 was an extra special year for myself and other Whovians; since being brought into the Whoniverse in 2005 the show has significantly changed my life and I have loved every minute of the show. There were a number of occasions that really hit me hard, but most of the time I had someone who supported me and I am truly grateful for their help. Finally, having done my first Prelims at the start of December and having done fairly well, I try to forget the stress that they gave me and try to look forward to the nearing final exams with more optimism.
2013 is a year that I will definitely remember fondly more so than I might look back with regret and I hope that 2014 will come to the same standards, if not more. I hope you as well share how I feel, and that any hardships you have faced in the past year, will be left behind and you can start afresh in 2014. Happy New Year, lets all make 2014 one worth celebrating.
Wow. 1,019 views. I am quite proud about reaching such a high number. Thank you to everyone who bothered to take time out of their schedules to visit my blog. If you've read my previous post about reaching 500 views and are concerned whether these kind of posts will become a habit-do not fear. It is simply because this is my first blog and 1,019 views is quite significant for someone still fairly new to Blogger. It's at moments like this that I rejoice for starting my blog. Making this blog certainly has given me a boost in confidence; to know there a large number of people, even in other countries, that are interested in what I have to say is very comforting. Honestly, I would really appreciate any kind of comment on my posts to reassure me. Thank you all for taking a look at my blog and I hope you all continue show an interest.
Stephen: Greetings, my apologies for the considerable gaps between each of my posts but I am trying my best bring an end to this. This latest post is written by guest writer and my good friend Elizabeth Rose Hamilton. I wanted to do something a little bit different and I knew Elizabeth was the right person to ask to write this article. As you may already have guessed from the title, this post covers the controversy over equal marriage, where Liz will give her opinion on the matter. I hope you enjoy reading her article as much as I have.
Elizabeth:The
topic of equal marriage has been widely discussed for a great length
of time. There are several arguments both for and against the notion,
but I am here to give my viewpoint.
In
my own opinion, I feel that equal marriage shouldn’t even be
debated upon. I feel it is a necessity, that it is a right
to
anyone, heterosexual or not. So why do I feel this way? Well, I have
a few things to say about that.
First
of all, gay
rights are human rights.
They
are no different from any other human being; so why shouldn’t they
have the same rights as other human beings?
Second
of all, even
religious Christians that I have met have told me that they accept
homosexuals as people with rights.
While
yes, homosexuality in Christianity has a very clear viewpoint, it
also has another; ‘Judge not lest ye be judged.’ The core
teachings
of Christianity, I feel, are of love and acceptance. As I myself was
previously a Christian, these were always the teachings I tried to
follow, and still do, despite my movement from the religion. So why
is it that so many Christians refuse to accept homosexuals?
Another
point I’d like to make is that times have changed. Society has
changed. The world as a whole is different. What was once an
unspeakable sin is now acknowledged as an orientation that people
can't just choose. So why is it a loving couple may not partake in
the sanctity of marriage, simply because they are the same gender?
You
know who's homosexual? Neil Patrick Harris (Barney, How I Met Your Mother). You know who else is
homosexual? Jim Parsons (Sheldon, The Big Ban Theory). And John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness, Doctor Who). Look at that. Real, successful people. Who also happen to be homosexual people. Does that
make them any less of a person? No.
Homosexuals
can serve in the army. They can become doctors, fire-fighters, any
number of life-saving jobs.
But
no, they cannot marry.
And
this is what infuriates me most.
Ollie Outie!
Elizabeth.
Stephen: I hope you found Liz's article interesting and feel free to comment. Also, if you wouldn't mind, make a visit over to her Tumblir; there's some pretty cool stuff on it.
""No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes naturally to the human heart than its opposite."- Nelson Mandela
For those of you unaware, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, has passed away at age 95. This quote here truly shows how great of a man Nelson Mandela was, who was responsible for shaping South Africa into a multi-racial democracy. Elected first black president in 1994, from then on Mandela become a true leader, a symbol of hope and inspiration. Without this wonderful man, the world would be a very different place; Obama wouldn't be president, there would still be segregation of black people and the words courage and morality would have no true meaning. .
He is a credit to this planet, he is someone whom we will always look up to and deserves more than our respect. I hope your thoughts go to his friends and family at this time. So few people in history have endured oppression with such little ranker or overcome the oppressor with so little bloodshed. That is what makes Nelson Mandela truly remarkable. Despite all the hardships he faced, this brave man chose not to surrender. I could go on and on about how much of an amazing human being Nelson Mandela is.
I can't understand why anyone would be so ignorant as to not know who he is, but lets not dwell on that. Even in the time of his death, it is not the time to sorrow over the loss of a great man but celebrate the outstanding achievements of an outstanding human being. Thank you Nelson Mandela, from the bottom of all our hearts; thank you for not only for shaping South Africa into a place of equality, but for shaping the word into a more equal society and for creating a brighter future for the human race. Thank you Nelson Mandela, for being born. May you rest in peace.
""Our nation has lost its greatest son,"- Mr Zuma
R.I.P Nelson Mandela (July 18th 1918-December 5th 2013)
Firstly, I would like to start by apologizing to you wonderful people, for the considerable gaps between each of my posts. This is either due to school, sheer laziness or because my mind is not allowing me inspiration to write. I will try my very best to shorten the gaps between each post and if I may request, any comments on my posts would be very welcome, so that I do not feel as if I am wasting my time with this blog.
Anyway, as most of you will hopefully be aware, not too long ago was the 31st birthday of Matt Smith; the fantastic actor who brought The Eleventh Doctor to life. When first announced that he would be the wonderful David Tenants successor- a number of fans were almost in shock(including myself if I am perfectly honest) because no one had ever heard of Matt before, he had some roles in television beforehand but none to make him generally well known. It was a bit of worry for fans, that he wouldn't have such an outstanding acting ability (being the youngest actor to play The Doctor at 26) and they weren't exactly wrong. The first series, he did show some excellent talent as an actor but it wasn't until the end of series 5 that he truly settled in to the role and grew amazingly well as an actor. At the end of his time as The Doctor, there was news of a number of roles in movies,etc that Matt had accepted and it was great to see that not only is he seen more as an actor now but he hasn't been typecast.
Considering the point I made in the first paragraph, I wanted to make a post to keep you going and assure you that I am still alive. It just turned out to be a happy coincidence that Mr Smiths birthday gave me this idea. I wanted to do something particularly special to celebrate Matt's run as The Doctor. A few ideas floated in my mind, but some of them I didn't want to put into action until closer to date of Smith's last episode. So I decided that I give a list of some of my favorite videos on YouTube in tribute of Matt Smiths era as the mad man with a box.
Note: I did not create these video and all credit goes to the people who made them.
1. A Tribute to the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith)- by Mrlazarus01
Compared to other videos, this one will be seen as "slow" and for some of you that may be a bad thing, but that is not quite true. One of my reasons for choosing a video that I think you will see for all of them, is the music. This video particularity, had the most powerful music in my opinion; from the series two episode of Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia. I absolutely adore the music, it just gives me so much feels and the scene that it is used for in that episode just makes the scene so emotional. Another reason for this video reaching the top spot, was the number of memorable quotes put into the video and not with the music from that episode, making the video feel cheap. My favorite quote in the video due to how effectively it is used, is the speech made by The Doctor in the divisive series 7 episode "The Rings of Akhaten." When listening to the speech, and seeing clips of episodes matching what The Doctor is referring to-such as: "I have lost things you will never understand" and we can see the timelord putting on Amy's glasses to read the sad message she left for him in Rivers book. So many feels accompanied this video and the music only intensified the pain that fans such as myself would be suffering. A magnificent video, a wonderful tribute for Matt Smith and well deserving of the top spot.
2. Doctor Who, Series 5-7 Mega Trailer, 1,000 subscribers video (Matt Smith) - by taridselliot
Compared to the previous video, I feel this one covered Matt's era as The Eleventh Doctor a little bit better and the music was quite good, however the music combined with the powerful quotes in the other video, made for a more effectively emotional video and it is for that reason mainly that this video isn't at the top of the list. The build up at the start was quite nice, I liked how they began with clips from Matt's first episode "The Eleventh Hour" and Amy's voice could be heard referring to him as her "imaginary friend" and what set them off on their adventures together. It then touches on his other companions, such as Clara and the beginning of The Doctors endeavour to find out who she really is. As well as River Song, where we are given a quote from the first adventure that The Eleventh Doctor meets River and people who have continued to watch the show afterwards will know how significant that quote can be. From then on, the music got more fast paced and more exciting, that's why I quite liked about this video was that it covered a lot of his era at an exciting pace.Another thing that caught my interest, was the way that the Cybermen, Daleks and Weeping Angels all got a special mention in the video and was quite well done. The arcs of The Eleventh Doctor were touched upon quite nicely as well. This is a very excellent video but sadly didn't have that emotional edge to grab my attention. A well deserved second.
3. Ultimate Doctor Who Era Trailer, Series 5-7, Matt Smith- by tardiselliot
Another exciting video by the same YouTuber. Originally, this video had found itself in second place, but just as I was about to write the description of it, I re-watched both the videos and I believed the other was more deserving of the spot. My reason being, is that the video felt better structured and that it covered Smith's era better; the second video does also cover his era quite well but I felt it was a bit jumbled up in a bad way. Also, a few of the quotes or clips were used in the same order as the previous video but I didn't feel they were used as well as the other one. One thing that allowed me to quite enjoy this video, was the use of the guitar; it just felt right and built up the video quite well. I also, like the use of the last scene from "The Name of the Doctor" not only do I absolutely love that scene, but i thought it was placed perfectly within the video. It is quite unusual to hear guitar music quite clearly with Doctor Who (not that it hasn't been done at all) and it worked quite well together. To me, it felt that tardiselliot was trying to get across the dangerous, action-packed adventure that can come with traveling with The Doctor and they certainly did do that. It really did feel like a good trailer to advertise to a non-Whovian ( just the thought of it is horrible) and would surely prove to be very enticing to them.
4. Doctor Who: "The Matt Smith Era"-Ultimate Cinema Trailer-by TheAfroThunder1
A small conflict took place in my mind as to what position this video deserved? Quite simply because of the music; with the excellent use of clips from Matt's first episodes at the start of the video combined with the music, gives that "fairy tale" feeling to it. A very popular and well used theme of Series 5. However, I don't feel like this video touched on the best and most important parts of Matt's era as the previous two have. It still proved to be a very pleasing video, the music was quite catchy and enticing. I think what partly let this video down was the time that it was created; only being released the month after Amy and Rory's heartbreaking departure, they didn't have clips from the remainder of Series 7 at their disposal. Granted that this would not allow them to tocuh on Clara, but they could have looked a bit more at River and the arcs of Matt's run. However, one thing that I particularly liked about this one, was the specific scenes that it looked at. For example, the scene between The Doctor and Oswin, not the most significant scene of NewWho or the most powerful, but this was a very excellent scene and very well intensified with the music. A great video and a great shame for the time that it was made in.
5. Doctor Who, Series 5-7 Ultimate Trailer, The Pond Era (Matt Smith)- tardiselliot
The word to describe the music which accompanied this video would certainly be epic. They did take their time to actually get into it, to go at a more faster pace but from around 38 seconds onward, it did feel quite thrilling. What was nice about this one is that it did touch on the main arcs of Matt's era at the beginning but it just wasn't so spectacular to top it's successor, even with it's lack of coverage of the arcs. With this video, I made an exception because it was a pretty good video but it's time of release meant they had no clips of the Clara era as did the previous video. As long as it covered the majority of Matt's run then I would allow it to be a contender. I am really repeating myself a lot when analyzing each of these videos, but nothing else really comes to mind that I should be looking for in the videos. A good video none the less, it had a nice build up and quite entertaining.
6. Doctor Who, Series 5-7 Mega Trailer, Matt Smith- tardiselliot
I feel like this video had potential; it contained movie-like trailer music and generally felt quite exciting. One thing that let this video down, was the little to no quotes. The only one that was satisfactory was Doriums speech about "the question that must never be answered". Afterwards, only three more remained and even then they weren't very significant ones, nor could they be heard very well and some of the original music from the scenes could be heard seeping into the video; making it feel cheap. Again, the music did generally give a sense of it being epic. It did definitely feel like tons of clips were thrown in with no apparent order. As well as the previous one, I made an exception if it didn't cover Clara's ear so far, as long as it covered the majority of Matt's era. Compared to tardiselliots other videos, this one is disappointing Although applauds to tardiselliot, for filling four out of the six places.
I do apologize once again for being quite repetitive when analyzing the selection of videos. Also for how technically late this post is. If there is any videos that you think I have missed out, I do apologies but I have either seen them and not deemed them worthy of reaching the top contenders ( I sound like some kind of God) or I may have just not watched them myself. I didn't make full scale search for the best Matt tribute videos on YouTube, for I already had a few in mind and it would have required to much effort and taken up a lot of my time which should be spent studying for my Prelims.
All I hope is that you found some entertainment from watching these videos and this post has made you ponder over your own favorite Matt Smith era videos.