The Pilgrims

Righto's and Tea Party folks are really funny. The latest allegation they have is that due to the commie/socialist leanings of the Pilgrims, their society nearly failed, until they embraced capitalism. The pilgrims...the people who got a boat and sailed to an untamed wilderness with no real support system, only what they could carry with them in the boats. People who came not knowing the food, animals, land, and weather, not knowing what lay on the other side of the hills they could see, not having one house or farm built, heck not even having land cleared so they could build a house or a farm, using tools more akin to the stone age than anything we have today. Those losers. I swear the right seems to be getting dumber every day.

The Pilgrims were not communists or socialists. The Pilgrims, were more like the beginnings of the modern day corporation. They were bank rolled by investors and the pilgrims themselves, who by paying for a place in the community were in turn shareholders in the venture. They had a basic management structure with William Bradford acting as the on-site CEO, and a heavily religious, church lead group of "executives" (a turn you think the righto's would love), who worked in the trenches hand in hand with the workers to establish the community and get it going. And considering the community itself still stands today, one could argue they were a success.

The real problem the righto's have with the pilgrims are entrenched in the modern idea of what is a fair corporation. First is this idea that they would have to roll up their sleeves and get down next to the workers and sweat with them. In our modern world where being poor and having to work hard for a living is looked down upon by many wealthy people as beneath them, the idea of having to help build the community as opposed to sit back, pay someone to do it, and opting to have tea parties and tennis ladders seems like punishment. The modern righto takes no account of the realities of their arrival, only that some work is meant for the privileged, and other work, mainly physical jobs and menial labor, is meant to be preformed by people less fortunate than them. They label this socialism because the thought of their life being dependent on working hand in hand with people they deem beneath them is worse than death itself.

The other real problem for righto's is the lack of a for profit executive class earning 3 or 4 pumpkins for every 1 pumpkin the worker gets. Since Plymouth Plantation really was a basic corporate structure, with only a greedy bloated executive class missing, this has to be their major problem. It shows that the tea parties real objections are based in our modern time, that the vast majority of the population of the US today should be eagerly and happily doing everything within their power to make sure the small percentage of wealthy get wealthier.

The pilgrims were a success because they incorporated capitalism and socialism to build their community and, in turn, a country out of scratch. Plymouth, Jamestown and the other early colonies are still towns due to the idea that making profit is not the most important thing, but rather building the community is. That's not saying profit is a bad thing. The pilgrims made it a point that profit shouldn't come between the health and well being of the community, as opposed to modern right's version of today, where hunger and homelessness are treated with a "it sucks to be you" pithy comment, followed by an "out of my way loser" (I know there are many righto's who will say I give to my church or I donate to this organization or that organization. That's great, but how many people today say that the community is more important than profit? No, righto's will argue that unless profit is maximized, regardless of social problems within a community, the enemy wins. After all, "those people less fortunate than me are just lazy, deadbeat good for nothing syphons on the community." Sad and not very humble.)

Oh, and as we continue to digest the remains of our Thanksgiving feast, let's also not forget than none of the early European settlers would have survived with out "socialist" aid from the Native Americans.

Reality

Good points and conversation tonight. Maybe I'm not as worthless as some have made me feel...

Don't ever stop fighting...EVER!!!

Aging

Things I don't get about the younger generation:

I was at Target Field and a kid walked by the soft serve ice cream booth, where they had pretty good ice cream, but instead he was eating dipping dots.

So you are either waiting for a phone call or conference to start at 9PM in your office, or you just have nothing else to do, and instead of leaving (or staying at home until you are needed) and watching your full screen television or computer, you stare at your phone's tiny little screen and try to watch a movie.

Sure, there is the rare occasion where texting is the best option, but in the 98.5% of the other cases, you'd rather take 5 minutes to text someone as opposed to take 2 minutes to actually call them and deliver the same message.

They don't cook...ever!

FUN-NEE

So last night I had a friend over and he was giving me crap about my liking Dr. Who. He called me obsessed. Obsessed? I have a few DVD's and two or three books...and that's it. I don't have friends over and force them to watch. I am not even part of any fan club or messaging board. I just like the show and bought the DVD's. Yes I have made two posts here about the show, but it's only been two. He then went onto criticize me as a nerd because I also had the complete DVD sets of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and the TV show Angel. The fact that I own a few DVD's was enough for this guy to criticize me as obsessed.

It was then I had one of those moments you remember for history. I said, "you're criticizing me, but what are you going to do this weekend? You're going to put on your favorite Vikings jersey (the road one since they're on the road), dress your kids up in their Vikings jerseys, force your family in front of the TV in a room covered in Vikings merchandise and memorabilia to intently watch a pre-season game for four hours, including the pre-game and post game show, where you will insist that no one answer the phone in case you miss anything. You're going to tape the game and watch it again the next day, read and watch highlights again the next morning, get together at a sports bar the next day and relive the game with your buddies. You're going to ignore the real news of the week just so you can intensely follow every decision of the team, who's injured, who's got a good match up, what tired old cliches are being used to describe a sporting event. You're going to get into your car with the Vikings flag and Vikings license plate, turn your radio to one of the many sports talk stations to get the 'latest' up to date info, drive to your fantasy football draft which you have spent weeks preparing for, and seriously debate the merits of back up kickers. Your life will not exist for five months. I won't hear about your family or your job, but instead I have to talk to you about the games, the teams, the coaches and their decisions. When it's all over, you'll spend the other seven months of the year watching highlights being pushed by paid shills who are trying to convince you to forgo your child's education fund as you need to put down the three hundred dollars for a fan fest where some retired player might sign a jersey, or you need to drive two hours to a motor parts store where a player is making an appearance. You'll call congressmen and senators insisting they need to pay a billion dollars to keep the Vikings in town by building them a state of the art facility, and you'll scream at the team when they don't throw down eight million dollars a year to get one player. You do all of this, but yet you're calling me obsessed because I have some DVD's that I occasionally watch?"

"Yeah, but that's different, that's SPORTS! At least I follow something that's important."

Funny

So I was driving in town and had an SUV pull over and nearly run me and my family into oncoming traffic. To his credit, the driver clearly was sorry, but that didn't stop my heart from beating really fast. What got me over the near death experience was the vanity license plate on the back of his car - "PRO LIFE."

Well I saw the irony of this and made a post on Facebook thinking it was actually kind of comical. I end up having this friend of mine rip into me. She felt I was taking a cheap shot at pro-lifers and insinuated that I probably would be offended if she said God bless. Now this friend is a far right conservative who proudly told media at her kids school she was glad they didn't show Obama's welcome back to school speech as "she didn't trust him with her kids." I mentioned she was suggesting the President of the United States was nothing more than, at best, a creepy uncle, and at worst, a pedophile. She said he doesn't deserve my respect. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to see what was really forming her opinions.

The best part of this was that she thought that since I leaned left in my political thinking, that A) I am pro abortion and B) I hate God. I actually, personally, am against abortion unless it is needed to save the life of the mother, rape or incest. It's a personal decision, as it should be for everyone. Everyone should make their own choice on this, as I have. I understand both sides of this argument and would never condemn a person who disagreed with me. I also go to church pretty much every week. Me and my family sit in the front row off to the side. I don't hate God because I'm a lefty, rather, I am a lefty because of my belief in God.

I pointed this out to my friend. I've not heard anything back. If you make presumptions about people don't expect to be right most of the time.

Ranking Rush's Albums

So, since I rated the Doctor’s from Doctor Who, friends of mine who like the band Rush and also know I am a huge Rush fan wanted me to rank their albums over the last (nearly) forty years. This is not going to be easy.

First off, the rules, all live albums will not be included. If they had an album of original material first released as a live album, then I’d say sure. Also, compilation albums are not included. Would you rate Stephen King greatest chapters? Of course not. Compilation albums are great for fringe fans, but leave them out of any major ratings. That leaves off 8 live albums and 9 compilation albums. Those numbers alone should tell you the greatness of this band.

Here we go:

19 – Rush/1974 – This was their first album and if represented a lot of the unrefined talent of the band, plus a desire by the record company to turn them into something they weren’t. Not bad as you can see the potential, but against the rest of the albums, it pales.

18 – Hold Your Fire/1987 – This album, thankfully, was the last of the synthesizer heavy albums of the 80’s. Leading up to this album, they had done a good job of not overwhelming the traditional Rush sound, but in this one it got lost. Frankly, the band was close to turning into Chicago on this album.

17 – Fly By Night/1975 – They were maturing nicely and were starting to get the idea of “concept pieces,” but this album didn’t really work. It did give them a nice single with the title track.

16 – Feedback/2004 – The bands interpretations of the songs that inspired them were actually good, but after a few months of listening to this, I really haven’t revisited it. I think I miss the originality of Rush’s own music.

15 – Signals/1982 –This highlights how tough this ranking system is. 19, 18 and 17 are “C’s,” 16 is a “B-,” and I would make this a solid “B,” and we are only 5 albums in. I like most of the songs on this album, but I just don’t think it works as well as a “complete” album.

14 – Test For Echo/1996 – My least favorite of the post synth era albums (Feedback falls into a different category for me). It does have some of my favorite Rush songs on it (Driven and, especially, Half the World) but for some reason, it just doesn’t sit as well (for me) as some of the other albums.

13 – Presto/1989 – I can’t tell you how glad I was to hear the return to the guitar rock sound this album ushered in, but they had to re-learn how to walk before they could run again.

12 – A Farewell to Kings/1977 – This was when the band really had the freedom to write what they wanted to and the music started to develop into what would be considered their distinctive sound.

11 – Grace Under Pressure/1984 – The first Rush album I got and there is a lot of this album I really like. The fear of the cold war is wonderfully exposed with their songs and this album made me an instant fan. Within another year, I’d have every album up to that point.

10 – Hemispheres/1978 – Rush's 2^nd best epic song album and I still listen to this one at least once a year. The Trees is a top five Rush song and Side 2 alone is possibly my favorite side of a Rush album, back when people knew what a “side” of an album was.

9 – Vapor Trails/2002 – I can’t tell you how glad I was to hear this album. Mainly because it was the comeback album after Neil Peart lost his wife and daughter. No one thought they would ever record together again. Also, it was great, finally getting the hard rock sound from the 90’s, effective supporting keyboards from the 80’s and musical conceptuality of the 70’s together. One Little Victory remains one of the baddest rock songs ever.

A quick interlude. This is HAAAAAARRRRDDD. I’ve been at this for a week. I think in the end, I probably will be able to move any of these albums up or down one or two spaces just depending on the mood I am in. Now, back to the countdown…

8 – Caress of Steel/1975 – I just like this album. This was the first album they did where the album felt complete. The songs not only display the musical knowledge we have come to expect from them, but this album is a postcard of time, reminding me of my youth growing up in the 70’s (when I first heard it in 1984).

7 – Permanent Waves/1980 – This album represented a subtle change in the band, which would propel them to superstar success. It was radio friendly, but none of the songs really could be classified as a “single.” Regardless of the numerous critics that had always hated them, this album was them starting to kick in the doors of radio stations and saying, “it’s not like anything you’re playing right now but your listeners want to listen to it.” This album featured Spirit of Radio a song radio stations played even though it relentlessly criticized modern radio for selling out. Brilliant.

6 – Counterparts/1993 – The second best of the 90’s rock albums. As everyone was trying to find their grunge, Rush went back to traditional rock and put out a great album. Nobody’s Hero is my 2^nd favorite Rush song criticizing our warped ideas on what exactly makes a hero a hero.

5 – Power Windows/1985 – This was the triumph of the synthesizers, the best of the keyboard heavy albums of the 80’s. As heavy as the keyboards were, they still had the classic Rush sound. Mystic Rhythms has become a concert staple and Grand Designs could be the happiest song they ever wrote (I love that one too).

4 – 2112/1976 – Everything about this album has become iconic. It was the first real true prog album, with concepts and musical ability making it a thinking man’s alternative of the bombastic rock of the day. Side one, as a whole, is a classic. The band has mentioned they wrote 2112 thinking this was their last album they were ever going to produce, so they threw abandon to the wind and wrote what they wanted. When they were done, they had a classic sound, a classic image and the ability to record whatever they wanted from then on out.

3 – Snakes and Arrows/2007 – What makes a band great? Two things in my mind, commitment to their own unique sound and longevity. You can count a handful of bands that fall into that description, and Rush, viciously, put their stamp on that category again with this album, nearly four decades after forming. It’s hard to imagine how a band like this keeps getting better but top to bottom, this album is fantastic. I’ve listened to this album at least one every two weeks since it came out and I’m not tired of it yet. Far Cry, Working them Angels, and Larger Bowl are classics.

That leaves the final Two:

Moving Pictures/1981

Roll The Bones/1991

Moving Pictures is the bands most popular album, and there are many justifiable reasons why. First it produced their biggest hit single Tom Sawyer, fan favorites Red Barchetta, YYZ, Limelight and Witch Hunt (a song a lot of fans I’ve met at concerts wish they played more often), and the epic prog song The Camera Eye. This from an album that had a total, total, of seven songs. But what it really did is follow the path laid out by Permanent Waves and took it further. This was their music (they were by far the most successful prog rock band at the time, if not the only one); this was their distinctive sound, (different from their early days, but not unchanged; rather honed). I consider this to be a must have album for any listener of music, as this is Rush announcing, “yeah, we’re that good.” Fly By Night welcomed them as an up and coming band, 2112 turned them into the headline act, and Moving Pictures blasted them into rock royalty.

Roll the Bones was redemption. As I mentioned talking about Hold Your Fire, this band was starting to become Chicago. Go listen to an old Chicago album from the early days and you hear a rocking great band. Listen to any of Chicago from the mid-80’s and they became an easy listening, hyper sweet, talentless music machine more akin to Lawrence Welk. Rush realized after Hold Your Fire that they needed to get back to where they started and redeem themselves. Presto was a transitional album and then came Roll the Bones. All ten songs brought back the distinctiveness of the 70’s and early 80’s, merged that with a traditional rock sound, and placed the keyboards as the perfect fourth piece to a three-piece band. All ten songs are rock anthems; each could have been released as a single. The lyrics were what Rush fans loved, unapologetic, and all three musicians placed their name in the tops of all time at their own instrument, and I will argue Geddy and Neil are the best bass player and drummer ever. This also has my favorite all time Rush song on it, The Big Wheel, with what I consider to be their greatest lyric, “I was lined up for glory, but the tickets sold out in advance.”

This is going to be considered a wussy thing to do, but hey, it’s my list –

Tie for first.

enticement

Is there anything more wonderful than getting to relive your youth once a year? To be able to take off the adult layer and uncover the child that still resides in me is precious. Wish you were here!

The letter

I heard your show earlier tonight and your comments about selfishness and greed really hit home for me. I work for a company in the west metro and when I started there in 1971, there were a little over 75 employees. Most everyone loved working there and we all loved the original owner. He always had the little things that made a company fun to work at, not only a good paycheck and benefits, he insisted everyone take vacation each year, free coffee for everyone and on your birthday, you got a cake delivered by him personally, plus a gift certificate to say thanks. The company made profits and morale was always really high. We did have some downturns, but the company treated laying off employees as a last resort and anyone who got laid off was immediately called back when the company was back on it’s feet.

In the mid 1990’s, the owner let us know he was retiring and his son was taking over. Privately, the father had said he was concerned about his son’s conservative mindset and felt as if he would use the company for his personal gain. His son came in and assured everyone that things would never change, and that his father’s spirit would affect his every decision.

The first change had to do with the coffee and birthdays. Immediately, coffee was for executives only. He placed a coffee vending machine in the break room for the rest of the staff and when a floor manager brought his owncoffee pot, the son told him to get rid of it. He said it wasted electricity but since the vending machine wasted far more than any coffee pot, it looked like he was trying to make a few bucks off the staff. Birthday cakes stayed, primarily because the owner of the bakery and his father were close friends, but there were no more gift certificates and the son rarely said happy birthday to anyone. There were other changes, primarily changing from our long term suppliers who had always worked with us, American companies, to cheaper, foreign made suppliers who sent us inferior products. The father and son constantly clashed over these supplying decisions.

When the original owner died nearly ten years ago, that’s when the company immediately went to hell. Long term employees who had been there for years were let go and replaced. If it was a skilled position, it was usually someone straight out of college with no experience, or, they would adjust headcount in the departments and a low paid floor worker was brought in, or in many cases, the employees weren’t replaced, causing a much higher work load for everyone else. Floor workers making higher saleries were forced out and replaced with lower paid workers Everything was cut, from benefits to annual pay increase, for everyone but the son. His salary and benefits went through the roof. It seemed like every other week he came in with a new car that had a new gadget, all on the companies expense. Within a few years, no one liked working there anymore and it went from an office where if you’d been there for ten years, you were still a rookie, to a company where most of the senior staff had been there for five years or less.

The son didn’t have to make these drastic changes to save the company because profits were down. The company had been seeing record profits. The big difference was that the president’s paycheck was enormous making 20 times more than his father, and that’s factoring in inflation. Other top executives, many of them friends of the son, were also seeing salaries much higher. And part of the companies profits are now being given directly to right leaning politicians, something the original owner refused to allow the company to do regardless of the party. Today the company has only 51 employees, bitter tired employees, many who are looking for a new job. The rumor is the son is starting to look for the highest bidder.

Right after his father died, when the first staff birthday came up, there was no cake. A week later a box of doughnuts was placed in the break room with the note, for all this month’s birthdays. May and June of this year we had our first box labeled for May and June birthdays. Same amount of doughnuts. Officially the original owners spirit has been killed. I hope I make it to my retirement in two years.

Mary

Seabird

And all this time
Saying you were fine
And everyone still to blame
Well there you are
You and your broken heart
It's written all over your face

Don't you know
Don't you know that you're beautiful yeah Don't you know Don't you know that you're beautiful

I AM A GEEK!!!

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/rushbeyondthelightedstage/

Walleye dreaming

Is there any profession more fake than Media Buyer? They wait to see who will get them the best freebies and then use the nuances of the ratings to justify their choices. Sad really...

Frustration

I want to be active in my community so there are numerous community organizations I volunteer for. One of these organizations has become a real burr under my saddle. I am going to these meetings and I hear these people talk about how the head of a similar organization in another part of town is openly arguing that if there are going to be funding cuts, that they should start with our group and neighboring groups as opposed to his group.

I suggest, through my contacts and experience, that I go after this person, debate-wise, and call him out for his irrational argument. All the sudden everyone in my group says,"oh no! We don't want to seem to be aggressive or mean spirited." Well, the guy who's getting all of the headlines doesn't seem to mind being aggressive and mean spirited.

If you complain about someone being mean or unfair to you, but when you have the opportunity to defend yourself or even fight back, you shy away, you have just forfeited the right to complain about the outcome of the situation. If you have a chance to act and you fail to do so, you're just as responsible, if not more responsible, for the outcome than if you did act.

A good carpenter uses all of his tools in the toolbox. And as many of you know, I am a tool. Use me. :-)

Who am I?

This is who I am.

A Time To Talk
by Robert Frost

When a friend calls me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don't stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven't hoed,
And shout from where I am, "What is it?"
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.

I had a epiphany walking in the woods with my kids. I concede. Good luck and all my best.

The Walk

I get up at 5 AM on a cool May morning to be obedient

I put on my reflective vest for safety

Head down the street to the intersection

And…

I turn to the east

Looking uphill, the bottoms of the clouds are still indigo

I pass a crabapple tree holding onto its gorgeous blooms

The sweet smell of spring making me smile

Past the park and birds making noise

Like an orchestra warming up.

So many voices and such beautiful sounds

You want to grab a chair and take in the show

The song waning as I approach the highway

As I topped the hill the bottom of the clouds had turned bright pink

And…

I turn to the north

The highway already loud with early morning commuters

A monument to the victorious larger city

That swallowed the small town and turned it into a suburb.

Litter speckled the road

The grittiness of the metro scowered the country gray

Rundown industrial buildings make me uncomfortable

One lone bird challenged the city,

Filling its lungs and screaming its song

But barely being heard behind the numbing hum

I cross the major road

The sky was turning a bright orange

Glimmers of brightness poking up from the horizon

And…

I turn to the west

Into the past and down the town’s old main street

Buildings of importance and necessity

Harrowing back to a lost time

Before technology had dismantled us

The original residers long gone

Replaced with new business and hopes

The birds living in the trees lining the streets brightly singing

The town was alive within the city

And although it was forever changed

It was still it’s own

The emerging light behind me

Reflecting back at me in the windows that lay ahead

The clouds in the west had started wearing their purple hues

And…

I turn to the south

I look to the left

The sky exploding in peach, apricot, and bright yellow

Driving away the long cool night

The store’s sign telling me

Everything must go before the new inventory arrives

I cross the major road again

The shift turnover was clogging the street, coming and going

Even more birds were chiming in

Intoxicating lilacs motivating me faster

The western clouds had turned red

And…

I turn to the east

The sun just coming over the horizon

The colors of the Earth waking with it

And the remaining birds join the crowd

Applauding the new day, and my motivation

A crow flew past me, heading west

So close I could hear his black wings pushing the air

A seagull was flying toward the east

High in the sky glowing yellow with the dawn

I push to my street and head toward my house.

Fool me once...

Since I was let go from my job due to a major restructuring, I have heard my former management and other former laid off employees say this decision to change the company was made in the few weeks previous to the lay offs. For the record, I understand and agree with the decision they made, as it's the only way they have a chance at keeping their largest client in house. Considering the size of the changes they made, they must have made this decision months ago and they had been putting it into place for months. I think it's suspect the entire marketing plan for the last six months was for the only elements of the office they kept in place.

Ranking the Doctors from Doctor Who

Since my ranking of the episodes post, I've been asked by a few people to rank the actors who have played Doctor Who over the last 40+ years. Why not. Matt Smith gets a pass as I think you have to look at the entire run of an actor to get a fair opinion of their work. I am sure there are going to be one or two who might even have this list in the complete opposite order as mine (I'd be shocked) but that's okay. This is just personal preference.

10. The 6th Doctor Colin Baker. I understand what the producers were trying to do with the 6th Doctor (the whole crazed insanity thing) but it just didn't work out. When your run is known more for the skin tight outfits of your companion than for any of the episodes or the scripts, that's a bad sign.

9. The 3rd Doctor Jon Pertwee. I know many fans who think of him as one of the best, but he never really clicked with me. The banishment to Earth and the episodes I have scene just don't have the substance of the rest of the Doctors. I also get the impression they were trying to get a Tom Jones version of William Hartnell's 1st Doctor.

8. The 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy. Frankly, I think there was so much damage done to the continuity of the show during the 6th Doctor, you'd have needed a real top notch actor to save the series. Sylvester McCoy, was not that actor. He was good, and definitely had his moments, but he was not enough to carry the show further.

7. The 1st Doctor William Hartnell. To be honest, I have only seen four of his episodes. This might be a case of he was before my time, but if you were to go back in time, he was the perfect fit. Every episode I've seen of his he was a cranky old man who was obsessed with the preservation of time. I think the 1st Doctor should have been like that, much like a 16 year old on his first job, but today, after all of the other great Doctors and episodes, he does come off as abrasive.

6. The 8th Doctor Paul McGann. I liked the Movie, and between it and the radio shows he did, the series stayed around until the reboot, but this is a case of not enough material to be able to move him higher. He did serve as the template for the next three Doctors (skinny, stylish and more attractive to female companions than the previous incarnations), but I would have loved to see him in one year of a series. The fact they have eluded to his role in the Time War, something I pray they attempt to go back and show, still leave his chapter somewhat unwritten.

5. The 2nd Doctor Patrick Thoughton. Of the first three crankball Doctors, he was the best (in my opinion) because he was so different than the other two. His stories were better handled than the first Doctor and if you are having to play against really bad visual effects that are supposed to be aliens, you need a good actor (aka The Twilight Zone). Thoughton was a great actor, one of the few to put a memorable role outside of The Doctor into his resume (The Omen). Season 5 is one of the strongest, but he still was part of the over seriousness that ruled the first series for the first decade plus.

4. The 5th Doctor Peter Davison. There is an old saying in radio: "you don't want to replace the living legend, you want to replace the guy who replaced the living legend." Davison had to have been intimidated by taking over for the 4th Doctor, but he used it as an opportunity to create a far different persona than his lead ins. The oddness of the celery and passing up the sonic screwdriver were just minor parts of his reworking of the character. Sometimes it didn't work, but he had some great episodes. He was the first buddy Doctor. By finding his own path, he ended up being a able follow up and became as iconic as any of the Doctor's personalities. Matt Smith should have Davison on speed dial.

3. The 9th Doctor Christopher Eccleston. The 9th had something no other Doctor outside of the 1st had; a bit of a mysterious background. The relaunch brought a great concept, a mentally wounded Doctor coming off a trauma never before seen in the series, the death of Gallifrey, the Daleks and the Time Lords in a successful attempt to save the universe, and the culprit who pulled the trigger is the Doctor. The sadness he inherited played out like a 12 step program. Classic episodes and possibly the best acting in the series made for gripping drama. The 12th step comes with the realization that his companions ultimate sacrifice was too much of a cost to pay. I only wish he would have stuck around for another season.

And that leaves two remaining Doctors -

The 4th Doctor Tom Baker

The 10th Doctor David Tennant

The 4th Doctor changed everything. Before him it was a college professor scolding his students. With him it was a quirky friend who keep wanting to keep you in on the joke. He didn't seem to take himself too seriously and it worked. It was a little clunky in the first year, but they did have back to back to back enemies of the Sontarans, the Daleks, and the Cybermen. They were very ambitious. Seasons 13, 14, and 15 didn't have a dud and about the only criticism you can lay upon him is that he stayed a year and a half too long, but that was the BBC terrified of change.

The 10th Doctor also understood the need to change the character to something new while staying the same. He was the James Bond Doctor, with something Bond never had, real emotions. His sadness over losing companions finally took its toll with the loss of Donna, and he spent the "specials" season by himself. The 2nd series season 2 with Rose was great, but then was succeeded by 2nd seasons season 4 with Donna, which overall could be the best season ever. When he finally regenerated, and made the statement "I don't want to go" we couldn't help but believe it. We didn't want to see him leave either.

This is a close race so to decide it, let's look at their individual weakness. The 4th's aforementioned staying too long is his worst discretion, but even during his long stay, there were still good episodes. The 10th had two problems, one was the first half of the Martha season, series 2, season 3. The majority of that season was really weak, even having a forgettable Dalek two-parter in New York City. It wasn't until the 8th episode two-parter, Human Nature/The Family of Blood that they finally clicked. The rest of that season was magnificent, but not enough to offset the miss-fires of the beginning. The second was the way they hurt the fans by having the whole "specials" season, making the viewers wait months and months between episodes. It will be nice to get back into a regular pattern with Matt Smith.

Taking their indiscretions into account,

2. The 10th Doctor David Tennant

1. The 4th Doctor Tom Baker.

Best music video in awhile

This is just amazing to me. I am sure they rigged some of this, but it's so ambitious and well done, I don't care. Not since Peter Gabriel have I liked a video so much. Watch it a second time to see the obviously frustrated faces on the band after what must have been a tiring shoot, as well as the piles of TV's and pianos in the background.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w&feature=player_embedded

The 12 greatest Doctor Who Moments…EVER!!!

I am a huge fan of Doctor Who. When I was a kid, I never got into the Star Wars/Star Trek debate, I was a real nerd and wanted to go hopping around the universe in the Tardis. I finally decided to put down this list, but there are no guarantees it won't eventually change again. I couldn't narrow it down to ten...

12) Planet of Fire – Fifth Doctor

The Master returns and Peri debuts (in a bikini and in an attempt to bring in older viewers), but it really was the best of the final Peter Davison episodes.

11) School Reunion – Tenth Doctor

The pure joy that David Tennant had on his face when reunited with Sarah Jane and K-9 was the look we all want when we see an old friend. I never knew how much I missed K-9 until the moment he tells Mickey “we’re in a car.”

10) Seeds of Doom – Fourth Doctor

If you are doing a monster movie or television show, this episode is a textbook example of making it great. There is also the plot twists catching the viewer, who initially think it’s going to be over in two episodes, but end up making a must see six parter.

9) Earthshock – Fifth Doctor

The death of a companion is a shock to the system, but how Matthew Waterhouse’s Adric goes out with the Cybermen is shocking. The maturity of the episode was the plateau for the early doctors. The original series sadly went downhill after this.

8) Horror of Fang Rock – Fourth Doctor

This episode highlights how well the fourth doctor’s writers figured out the “10 little Indians” formula. This episode scared the crud out of me when I was young and is one of the shows creepiest episodes.

7) Time Crash – Fifth and Tenth Doctors

Crossover episodes are usually a pathetic attempt at bringing back nostalgia, but this episode allows two doctors to be two doctors. And the tenth’s hero worship of the fifth is kind of sweet.

6) Tenth Planet – First and Second Doctor

Establishes the greatest “catch” in science fiction history. By allowing the Doctor to regenerate, you gave the series a way to stay fresh for decades (I am actually really excited about Matt Smith’s 11^th). Also, the first appearance of the (really weird looking) Cybermen, decades before anyone had heard of the Borg, doesn’t hurt.

5) Doctor Who – The Movie – Eighth Doctor

This movie actually could have been a lot better, but with the series being off the air for a few years, it was a cool glass of water for the parched mouths of fans (it also planted the seed for the return of the show).

4) Stolen Earth/Journey’s End – Tenth Doctor

If you’ve never understood the value of the Doctor’s knowledge, the important role companions play in a series, and the evil side of the Daleks, you will after this two part-er.

3) Dalek – Ninth Doctor

How scarred is the Doctor from the Time War? Look into Christopher Eccleston eyes when he faces his most hated foe and you’ll know the horror of a Time Lord who had to make the ultimate sacrifice.

2) Robots of Death – Fourth Doctor

This is the greatest “who-done it” episode in television history. It shows how advanced this series storylines were compared to other science fiction. This is years before Styx started singing about Mr. Roboto and the evils of too much technology. They never just threw an alien species or culture up against a wall to see if it would stick, but rather would imagine the alien species and the day-to-day society it would live within.

Number #1

Blink – Tenth Doctor

It’s great to show a real understanding of the impact of time traveling with a conversation between two people decades apart via Easter Eggs hidden on DVD’s. The acting is superb (including the wonderful Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan as Sally), the script by Steven Moffat is extraordinary, the fear of weeping angels is real and the appeal of this episode surpasses the fan base of the show.

Reality

No matter how much of a heads up you get, knowing that something is coming, it still sucks to get fired.

The Desert

It was once a lush and vibrant place

Full of life, beauty

But then suddenly, violently

It became the place it became

Cruel and relentless.

An arid scar waiting

It entices you with warmth

Exotic unique beauty

A quirkiness drawing you in

You ignore the warning signs

Plants with spikes

Animals adorned in scales and shells

Or hiding in the dark from the ever growing heat.

The intent becomes clear

It destroys

It needs to

It doesn’t want to but it can’t help itself

Down deep inside, it enjoys it a little

The anger over it’s own fate

Lashing out furiously

Slack-jawed stupidity turns

A dreadful understanding

The sun sets into a fierce dark fire

As the shadows of acquiescence fall across your face.

You stumble out of the decimation

The black dry fog lifts away

You look back

No awe, no inspiration

Just fear and sadness

You understand now

Count your blessings,

And try to convince yourself you don’t want to go back.