I've never seen a single episode of Doctor Who

I did think it was a little sad that in the latest Lush newsletter, they referenced both Wallace Stevens' "The Emperor of Ice Cream" and daleks, and had to explain the whole "emperor of ice cream" thing. But didn't have to explain daleks. (Because really, how can you?)

I don't think they quite got the meaning of the poem, anyway.

SO! Who wants to play with African scammers? I just got the following, and can't tell if it's the "give us your bank account number" or the "pay for the costs of probate" or some combination.

Dear Winchester,

RE: UNCLAIMED FAMILY INHERITANCE.

This is to extend our notification to your knwoledge that the Board of this firm, hereby inform you that after our annual auditing and meeting, we discovered an unclaimed consignment valued the sum of US$5,500,000 which was deposited by Mr.Dan Winchester an engineer in Africa Oil Company.

Before his death, he deposited a box valued about US$5,500,000 in our custody which he declared as family valuable and instructed that it should be release to his next of kin. After our inquires from his employer about his family, we were told that they all involved in an auto crash,we then proceed to his embassy to enable us trace any of his relation, but it proved abortive, because he has spent more then a decade in Ghana. We decided to trace his family through any possible means, but no sucess was made before we decided to contact you , since you have the same surname with our late client.

The management has approved the release of the consignment to you as the beneficiary. In regards to this development, you are required to contact Barr.John Bosah who stood and signed as his family lawyer on the day of the deposit via his email address : barr_johnbosah@freeghana.com for details.

Thanks for choosing our company and hoping to claim your consignment urgently.

Yours Truly,

Ms.Kate Williams.

Auditor

NB:PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR TELEPHONE/FAX NUMBER ON YOUR REPLY FOR EASY AND IMMEDIATE COMMUNICATION AND IGNORE ANY OTHER MESSAGES YOU RECIEVED IN RESPECT TO THIS CLAIM FROM ANY OTHER PERSON.REPORT SUCH MAIL TO THIS ADDRESSFOR VERIFICATION BEFORE PROCEEDING.

Neither have I Raq.

but the Sixth was thoroughly unpleasant. Treated his companions like crap, acted like the sun shone out of his various orifices, but without the charm of the Ninth or Fourth to make it endearing instead of boorish.

See, I always thought of him as sort of the Ozzy Osburne of Doctors. Which, fine, was the hair talking to me.

In that light, he was forgettable, but mildly entertaining.

The Fifth Doctor just made me want gag on my own boredom while at the same time somehow not being forgettable. Most annoying.

EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE.

See, I always thought of him as sort of the Ozzy Osburne of Doctors. Which, fine, was the hair talking to me.

That's part of my problem with him. It felt like they wanted to get a curly-haired actor named Baker to play the Doctor, rather than operating from any forward-looking plans. Sylvester McCoy, on the other hand, held the world record for stuffing live ferrets down his trousers. Now that's a Doctor-worthy resume.

The Fifth Doctor just made me want gag on my own boredom while at the same time somehow not being forgettable. Most annoying.

Yeah, I didn't mind him, though that was partly because when I first watched it I had a crush on Nyssa. I wouldn't begrudge anyone their boredom-fuelled contempt for him. (He was also, I think, the most goody-goody of the Doctors.) He did, however, go out in one of the most highly regarded Doctor Who stories ever, The Caves of Androzani. I also have a soft spot for Enlightenment. "You are a Time Lord. A lord of time. Are there lords in such a small domain?"

Recent phone conversation with AS:

Me: "See, now I'll have to teach you about Dungeons & Dragons."
AS: "Why?"
Me: "You can't call yourself a nerd without knowing D&D, it's the epitome of nerddom."
AS: "But that's for boynerds! I'm a girlnerd!"

AS: "But that's for boynerds! I'm a girlnerd!"

So cute. So doomed.

Sooo sleepy.

So cute. So doomed.

So very true. I told her I want to get her a t-shirt with that sentence on it.

As I have a rather long-standing crush on Peter Davidson, I liked the Fifth Doctor. I disliked Colin Baker enough that I quit watching entirely. My brother and I had the following conversation about the Sixth Doctor:

Me: I don't like him. He's a wimp.

James: He's just fatherly.

Me: My father isn't a wimp.

James: OK, so he's grandfatherly.

Me: My nephews' grandfather isn't a wimp.

I associate Peter Davidson way too much with Tristan Farnon to have a crush on him.

AS: "But that's for boynerds! I'm a girlnerd!"

Very cute. But not entirely accurate. There are girlnerds that play D&D. It's not like saying you do tabletop miniature games - the percentage of women playing those is miniscule.

And I'm not a nerd and I play D&D every week. I'm a geek. I'm not a nerd. And okay, up until recently my gaming group included several other women, one of whom was a Playboy model and exotic dancer.

Very cute. But not entirely accurate. There are girlnerds that play D&D.

Um. Yes, she knows that.