The Doctor Who Experience

A wax figure of the new Dr. Who presides over the call box at the London museum display

Dr. Who is a BBC science fiction series that premiered in 1963 and featured a time traveling Time Lord who sailed the universe in a sentient time machine called a TARDIS, which appeared to be a benign blue British police call box on the outside, but was a vast contraption on the inside with several stories and many rooms.

As silly as this series has been from time to time, it has garnered a vast following in the years since its debut.  It is the most successful science fiction franchise of all time (at least according to the BBC) and has come to be known for its imaginative scripts and low budget special effects.  And some really catchy theme music.

Olympia is an exhibition and conference center in the West Kensington area of London, comprising three main halls: the Olympia Grand, the Olympia National and the Olympia Two.  The BBC Worldwide sponsored an exhibition of Dr. Who props, memorabilia and Dr. Who themed interactive exhibits at the Olympia Two this past fall, which proved to be so popular it got an extended stay through February 22nd.

A couple of friends of mine have been able to see the exhibit.  It looks like a lot of fun.  To corroborate this, I asked my friend who saw it most recently how he liked it.  His reply, "It was fun".

There you go.


"Exterminate!"

 These "life size" Daleks (above) are from the BBC show.

You never forget your first Doctor. (Tom Baker)

I've been a Dr. Who fan since the 80s.  My first doctor was played by Tom Baker, a jovial giant of a man, who (as an interesting sidelight), briefly dated one of my girlfriends on a visit to Los Angeles many years ago.

His doctor was a bon vivante with a jaunty hat, a long multi-coloured scarf and a shock of reddish curls.

There have been many doctors since then.  (And who knew there is a new Dr. Who?  Say that three times really fast!)


Christopher Eccelston as the 9th Dr. Who

 If you've never seen Dr. Who in your youth, perhaps you just don't "get" the Dr. Who phenomenon.  But, as the record numbers of folks flocking to the Olympia Two exhibit in London can attest, there's just something about Dr. Who that is compelling.  (Note: the exhibit closed at the end of February, I believe. Just in case you were wanting to go.) Granted, the early special effects were pretty cheesy, but the writing was always imaginative and fun.

Long live the good doctor!  Or, better, yet - please get me a TARDIS and whisk me away!

SURPRISE



Maura was so surprised!  She was speechless!

 My friend Maura and her twin brother Maurice are celebrating their 60th birthday this month. Maura's friend and roommate arranged for a surprise party for the siblings.


Close-up of a speechless Maura, seconds before she burst into happy tears

 The party was held in Studio City, and was a huge success.  It was remarkable, not just for being fun, but that we all - and by that I mean all us blabbermouths - managed to keep it a total secret!

Marcy and Maura exclaim over the beautiful cake!

The cake was a work of art.  It had a beautiful photo of Maura and Marcy on top.  Inside it was many layers of moist chocolate and luscious cream frosting.

The cake was just beautiful!  And it was delicious!

There was a nice mix of people there, and, as all gatherings in this area of the world, we had a screenwriter, a stunt woman, a TV critic and journalist, a published author and all kinds of other folks in attendance.  I love my friends.

Maura and Jackie (Sadly I didn't notice how out of focus this was that night.  I snapped it rather quickly)

Peggy, Joyce and Maura

There was a terrific slideshow presentation of Maura and Marcy's lives which we all enjoyed very much:

 ...including family photos...

 ...family residences...

 ...and birthday wishes via video from family members such as Aunt Betty (above), and Bert the dog (below), who was remarkably articulate for a canine, and brought the house down with his happy birthday wishes and general musings about life.  What a dog!

It was a lovely tribute to two very genuine, kind and warm people.  I can't believe the amount of effort it must have taken to not only put together the slideshow, but to get people to send in their videos.

Especially with our friends.  It's like herding cats.

Maura and Marcy with their canine children

The little show ended with the picture that was also on the cake.  Everyone applauded.

Maura and Mary Jo, with Jackie and Gina in the background

Mild-mannered screenwriters conferencing

It was fun to see a few people I haven't seen for a long time.  There were actually quite a few more people attending than I've included photos of. 

Good friends

It's always fun to get together with friends.  It's also nice to celebrate birthdays of the people you love.  I'm so glad to count Maura among my good friends.  She is truly a lovely lady.

Thanks, Jackie, for a memorable evening!

Happy Birthday, Relief Society!

The Stake Center recreation hall was beautifully decorated for the well-attended luncheon

The LDS women's Relief Society was organized in March, 1842.  It is the oldest, and largest women's organization in the world.  There are over 30,000 Relief Societies throughout the world.

I really love Relief Society and my association with all these wonderful women!

On Saturday, our Stake Relief Society held a nice program for the women of our Stake in honor of the Relief Society birthday.

There were hundreds of women there

A presentation in the chapel preceded the luncheon.  It consisted of a lovely program about the powerful influence of one righteous woman.  The powerpoint presentation discussed the beautiful examples of righteous women from the scriptures.

It also showed us pictures of Relief Society sisters from across the globe.  Relief Society provides volunteer services of all kinds throughout the world, including promoting literacy and providing vital immunizations for children.

The presentation ended with a video of the song, "Daughters of a King".  It was a truly beautiful program, and just the right length, I thought.

Everyone enjoyed being able to socialize at the lovely luncheon

The luncheon following the presentation was really well organized.  Every table had a pitcher of water, fruit cups filled with berries of all kinds were at each place setting, and a tray of a delectable assortment of all kinds of cupcakes sat in the middle of each table!  Yum!

We were each served up a lovely and LARGE salad of tortilla chips, black beans, salad greens, shredded cheese, and a huge scoop of shredded, mildly spicy chicken.  Salad dressing was also on the table.  The salads were conveniently served in containers that you could take home if you wished.

It was all planned for a minimum amount of clean-up - but it was also really tasty.  Everyone at my table enjoyed the meal and commented on how delicious everything was.

Every table had a delightful array of cupcakes for dessert

 I am always amazed at how well the Stake Relief Society manages to quickly feed hundreds of hungry women very quickly.

The Stake young women helped serve the salads, I believe.  It all happened so fast and efficiently, I hardly noticed them.

Everyone received a huge chicken taco salad and a cup full of fruit.  It was yummy!

I ended up at a table with some of the women from my ward.  It was fun to sit and chat.  As you might imagine, with all these women eating and chatting the noise was deafening!  Ha!  It's great to be able to just sit and talk with people you love, that you don't get to socialize with very often,

Diane, Betty and Nancy

 Diane, Betty and Nancy are members of my Sunday school class. We always have fun together.  Betty has served faithfully as a ward missionary for nearly 20 years, I believe.

Mary Beth, Diane and Betty enjoying lunch

 Our Bishop's wife, Mary Beth, looked beautiful, as always.  I admire her alot.

Debra, Mary Beth and Diane

Debra is new member of our ward.  I really enjoy her!  She has recently been called as one of our ward Relief Society teachers.  I enjoy her lessons.

I'm so lucky to be a part of Relief Society!  It is a force for good in the world, and it has blessed my life in so many ways.  I am happy to count all these good women as my sisters.

So, Happy Birthday, Relief Society!  You're looking good for your age...

Friday Night Out

I went with some friends on Friday night to dinner and the theatre.  It was supposed to be a fun evening, but ended up being rather crazy when we didn't get served our meals at the restaurant until 7:45... when we had tickets for the theatre with an 8 p.m. curtain!

Luckily, it was a local restaurant and the theatre was the community theatre, only 5 minutes away!  We snarfed as much of our delicious entrees as we could, then grabbed some to-go boxes and high-tailed it to the theatre.

The lights started dimming and the first sound cue was heard before my bottom hit my seat!  We just barely made it!  But we DID make it.  The show was a lot of fun, and helped me decompress from a very hectic week.

We ended up at Marie's for pie - that's when I remembered I hadn't taken a single picture as I had planned. David did the honors, and so you have some silly pictures of me and Peggy eating our desserts.

Let's hear it for silly evenings with good friends.

Visiting a Fishing Port

My family in China recently visited the fishing village of Kaohsiung on the island nation of Taiwan.  They took a day trip to the harbor so the kids could see the ocean.

Fred and his mommy at the seashore

Fred likes the ocean.

Fred, Holly, Livia and her grandfather

Livia doesn't seem quite so impressed. 

Kaohsiung harbor

For being the end of January when these pictures were taken it doesn't look all that cold.  Perhaps a bit blustery down by the sea, but otherwise fairly pleasant.

It reminds me a bit of California in that regard.

Fred was quite taken with the fishing poles

Fred checks out a fishing pole, with Mommy's help

Looks like a fun day in the sun for our little bittle kiddles.

Antique Trains

Anders and Christian try their hands at a hand car

My nephews recently got a chance to visit a museum of old trains in Ogden, Utah.  Their dad was on hand with the black and white film.  Black and White film seems somehow appropriate for the antique trains.

My grandfather, the kids' great-grandfather, worked for the railroads back in the 1930s' Depression era Colorado.  I don't think he had any glamorous job with the railroads, but it kept his family of ten children provided for during some tough times.

Air travel dealt a tremendous blow to the railroad industry, but it didn't totally kill it.  There is something romantic about train travel.

I have ridden few trains in America, but have traveled on lots of them in my jaunts through Europe.  I like train travel.  I've even been on the famed Orient Express for a few miles (if I remember right, it was on a trip through France) back in the day!  That was a really exciting experience - not because of the particular car we were riding in, as much as it was the history and romance of being on that very famous rail line.

As far as this train museum goes, it seems that Ogden was once a main junction point for two railroads, making it a good spot for a train display today. 

The boys really enjoyed the museum.  Being able to climb around on the trains was an added plus.

I love my brother.  He is great.

My brother thinks the place lends itself well to black and white film photography.  I have to agree!  I think old trains are cool.

He further writes that, since their museum visit piqued the boys' interest in trains, he and the kids have been playing with a train simulator app for iPad.  Instead of building a train set in the basement, they have been digitally designing a virtual model railroad complete with houses, trees, grass, mountains and, well, everything else you might want to add to give you that total model train experience.

He adds: "Only if you had a set in your basement, you couldn't actually hop in the cab of a train and drive it, nor would you have weather.  We were up much too late last night building our own virtual train worlds."

I suppose  you could argue that in a digital world you still can't "actually" hop in the cab of the train.  You have to virtually hop in the cab of the train.  But I get the picture.  All I can say is, "How FUN!" 

Now I want one of those train simulator programs. 

(Yup.  I want one.  More toys!  Give me MORE TOYS!)

I suppose anyone who has ever gone nuts over a model train set can totally understand the mania attraction. 

I don't know about you, but I love museums, old trains and history.  And, as I said, the train simulator program sounds totally fun too!  Okay, I will admit it, I'm a total geek. 

But I'm particularly glad that my nephews had this chance to connect with their personal heritage, America's history, and have a good time with their dad!

Meet Julia! She's new!

One proud Daddy with his new little girl

Julia Elizabeth entered mortality at 3:03 p.m. on February 24th.  She weighed in at 6 pounds 11 ounces and is a healthy 19 inches long.  Despite that, I think she looks so tiny in these pictures!  What a sweet little girl.

This special little one came to a terrific family who were very excited about her arrival!

Now, I've been blogging about my office manager's pregnancy for the last few months.  I just want to clarify, this is not her baby.  Barbara still has a few weeks to go! 

Julia's dad is my co-worker Kevin.  Kevin is a top-notch engineer with our firm.  He is also a three-time Dad.  My guess, just from associating with him, is that he's a top-notch daddy too.

Carissa and Jonathan inspect their brand new sister

When asked how the kids were accepting their new sibling, Kevin said they were excited and wanted to be involved with everything concerning the baby. 

Beautiful Bridgette getting ready to take the new one home

I think Bridgette looks much too pretty and calm to have just given birth to child number three!  Here they are getting ready to bring Julia home from the hospital. What a great family.

Congratulations, Kevin and Bridgette!