Passacaglia

"Next stop: Everywhere!"

"Doctor Who". There's not many who haven't heard of the tv-show. There are hardcore-fans and people who are ordinary fans. I'm an ordinary fan, who heard about the show, checked it and liked it. Someone told me to watch it with a "twinkle in my eye", which is a horrible translation from Finnish to English, but what it means is that you shouldn't take it too seriously. You cannot expect a lot, because it is made with a small budget and the story and script isn't pure gold, but it is very good. For me I liked it the first time I saw it but I like it even more each time I watch it.

But I must admit I belong to the group of people who do not like much of the newer episodes with Matt Smith. For me it isn't the new Doctor that bothers me. Something has changed about the show, and I cannot put my finger on the exact problem I have with it. Of course there's the completely new Doctor now, 2014-2016, Peter Capaldi, but I haven't watched many of the new episodes to say if they are any good. 

I won't write a review, I leave that to other people, I just shortly introduce the show as one of the best scifi tv-shows of this century. It's a show that makes you smile and leaves you with a good mood. But it also has some touching stories not to mention horrors, that especially grab my attention.

My favourite episodes that include many great elements and are very well executed are "The empty child" and "Impossible planet". Many of the old episodes remind me of one other great tv-show: "The Twilight zone". If anyone reading this hasn't yet given a chance to "Doctor Who", I recommend that you give it a proper chance - emphasis on the word "proper". If you watch it with an open mind, you might find a new adventure.

*

If this doesn't pique your curiosity, nothing will.

"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."

"Let the moon's shining light hide two lovers with its rays

Though I know that dawn will set us on course for separate ways

I will hold this night in memory for all my living days

Now unmasked, I feel your skin on mine."

All Lies Lead to the Truth

"Brandenburg Concerto Number Two is the first selection of music on the Voyager spacecraft. The first. Four and a half billion years from now, when the sun exhausts its fuel and swells to engulf the earth, this expression will still be out there, traveling four and a half billion years. That is, if it's not intercepted first. Imagine, Fox. If another civilization out there were to hear this, they would think 'what a wonderful place the earth must be.' I would want this to be the first contact with another life-form."

*

I started to watch the old classic TV-show: X-files. I should make an introduction of the show, although I am fairly certain that there are almost no one at least in the western civilization who does not know it. 

When I was a child, I was forbidden to watch it - since it seemed to be a scary program. So I took a peeks at any time I could, and yes, some of it seemed scary back then. As a teenager I was finally able to watch it, and it blew my mind. Of course when I was able to watch it, I noticed that it wasn't scary at all. Anyone could watch it easily. 

Now it has some almost campy-characteristics yet it still is one of the best - and one my favourite TV-shows, and I can recommend it to anyone who is able to appreciate its unique intriguing contents.

Deep Throat: Mister Mulder, why are those like yourself, who believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life on this Earth, not dissuaded by all the evidence to the contrary?

Mulder: Because, all the evidence to the contrary is not entirely dissuasive.

Deep Throat: Precisely.

Mulder: They're here, aren't they?

Deep Throat: Mister Mulder, they've been here for a long, long time.

(Copyrights belong to the Ten Thirteen Productions, 20th Century Fox Television, X-F Productions - I think.)

And of course the show has one of the most beautiful women in the world (as I seem to always remember to mention these): Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully. One of my all time favourite red heads.

Mulder: I have a theory. Do you want to hear it?

Scully: Van Blundht somehow physically transformed into his captor and walked out the door, leaving no one the wiser?

Mulder: Scully, should we be picking out china patterns or what?

We are but Dust

(Copyrights belong to Sam Spratt)

I think I found myself an early x-mas present.

I want to Believe

The Truth is Out There

All space- and planet-pictures belong to NASA

This rather large post is a small drop of information about my love for outer space and specific types of Scifi. I already wrote a small - regrettable short - post about the second Scifi-phenomenon that left its mark in me; "The Battlestar Galactica" ("See the shape of things to come"), and now I wanted to write as short tale about couple of other personally influential things.

The game that stole my heart:

A spoiler-free "taste" of the trilogy

My relationship with Scifi is a very short one and it includes only few names, but the impact that those few names left is significant. They gave me a new kind of love towards outer space. I do not only look at the night-sky like looking at a black roof with bright lights. For me, my eyes go further and I can see the Moon circling around the Earth. I can feel the Earth moving within the vast space, see the Milky Way diving into these specific entities that hold in themselves countless of wonders. Space is the kind of scenery you cannot even imagine - less try to paint it with any traditional way. I am glad there are countless of digital-artists who have created the sceneries for us average people to look at.

(All digital-art pictures belong to Bioware)

                                                                   (All digital-art pictures belong to Bioware)

"Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer."

                                                                             (All digital-art pictures belong to Bioware)

"After time adrift among open stars, among tides of light and to shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."

Mass Effect was a game-series I accidentally bumped into. My brothers had introduced me to the Bioware-company's previous Scifi-games "Star wars - Knights of the Old Republic", which was actually the first Scifi-experience - if not counting the Alien-movies, Star Wars-movies and few TV-shows. I fell in love with the games. And I found the world of Star Wars more meaningful again. I loved the first three movies when I was a kid, but they were like a outer-space fairy-tale that didn't give much to the more mature audience of the new growing generations. Yet I would never buy the upgraded-versions of the trilogy, that has CGI-raped the craftsmanship art of props. I mean, the creatures they created were amazing as they were. Re-doing them on a computer is like pissing all over Leonardo da Vinci's painting of "Mona Lisa".
But Star Wars deserves a whole another post to be talked about. As does the classic TV-show X-files - which I am quoting here a bit besides Mass Effect-quotes. I shared too many pictures to fit anything more here.

Since my dazed-eye idolizing worshiping is not a real inspiration-starter, here's some short storyline-captions about Mass Effect-trilogy:

"In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient space-faring civilization. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time.

They called it the greatest discovery in human history.

The civilizations of the galaxy call it... MASS EFFECT."

I personally have a soft-spot for any kind of ancient disappeared civilizations. All kind of mysteries and unknown stories really get to me. 

"The galaxy is trapped in an endless cycle of extinction. Every 50,000 years, an ancient machine race invades with ruthless efficiency, wiping out all advanced organic civilization. They leave behind only the scattered ruins of technology, and they destroy all evidence of their own existence.

Few believe this ancient legend. You, however, know it to be true. The fight to stop this extinction event has become the most important mission in the galaxy.

And it is your mission. As Commander Shepard of the SS Normandy, take your elite recon squad across a galaxy in turmoil in a desperate race to stop the return of an enemy without mercy. To stop this enemy, you must act without remorse, without hesitation, and outside the limits of the law. Your only imperative is to preserve the safety of civilized life in the galaxy—and at any cost. You must become the tip of the spear of humanity, for you alone know the full extent of what is at stake if you fail."

And another - a bit less pompous:

"As Commander Shepard, rise to become the galaxy’s most elite soldier and lead an all-out war to stop an ancient and ruthless enemy: the Reapers.

Heart-pounding action meets gripping interactive storytelling where you decide how your unique story unfolds. Assemble and lead your team aboard the SS-V Normandy, the most advanced ship in the galaxy, and travel to distant and unexplored star systems. On your journey, meet a cast of intriguing characters each with their own story to tell. Wield devastating weapons and customize them with upgrades to create new and devastating attacks. All the thrilling action and your decisions culminate into a heroic battle against the greatest threat ever known. 

The fate of the galaxy lies in your hands—how will you chose to fight for it?"

The introductions emphasizes the amount of action, but the main focus should be on the story-line and the storytelling since those are the most amazing qualities - at least to a "nongamer" who enjoys deep, well-created topnotch stories that take you deep into the story until you can't stop playing. It is a game that mostly evolves with the players own free will. What will you decide to do, who can you save and who you must sacrifice? Who will become your friend and who your enemy? Who is trustworthy and how will you end the story - is all up to you.

"You realize this plan has me walking into hell too. Hah, just like old times."

And not forgetting the huge amounts of humour in the trilogy.

                                    (Assumably the Illusive man is a tribute to the Smoking man, Cigarette man from X-files)

(All digital-art pictures belong to Bioware)

"Our home is where we are our place of origin is not relevant only where we choose to go together" 

(All digital-art pictures belong to Bioware)

For my love of outer space I also wanted to apply to the mission to Mars (which you can google probably with those exact words since I'm too lazy to put here the specifics), where they were supposed to find the first colonists on a one-way trip to Mars to build settlements there. But at the time they were looking worldwide for volunteers, I was in a relationship that I thought would last. If I had known it would end quickly I would have applied even with my slim chances. 

It is most likely that the humankind will self-destruct before ever getting to a point where we are able to travel in outer space or build settlements there, but I like to dream about those impossible things as do many others who hold great affection towards astronomy, outer space and Scifi-entertainment. And I would have wanted to be one of those people who would become the very first trying to achieve that huge leap in this world of idiocy, where people only care about the insignificant things that happen in their own lives or where people only care about making money. I salute those who have another meaningful existence in art or science. In anything that creates and inspects and solves. Some say that the human-race has only one purpose, and that is to breed, but I think we are - or we can be - a lot more than that.

As Brother Cavil from Battlestar Galactica said - quite accurately to what I feel: 

"I don't want to be human! I want to see gamma rays! I want to hear X-rays! And I want to - I want to smell dark matter! Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can't even express these things properly because I have to - I have to conceptualize complex ideas

 in this stupid limiting spoken language! 
                 But I know I want to reach out 

with something other 

than these prehensile paws! 

And feel the wind of a supernova flowing over me!

"Be spared the pain - That comes from a dark and laughing rain"

Quick musical interruption and then I must study.

Today I got an inspiration to hone one of my scifi-comic stories into a more better ("modern") version. I've always wanted to make something of the world of science fiction - and the one that centers in outer space. I tried to make a painting, but with paintings it's difficult to portray what it means to travel among the stars. 
It truly is the final frontier, and I guess me as well as many others have kept dreaming that we might some day try to reach the stars instead of be content to fight about the things happening on Earth.
We can dream through visions - if nothing else.


And the fitting music to help me vision these milky way dreams are from Bear McCreary: 

"Gaeta's Lament - Instrumental"

"Kara remembers" 

"By Your Command" - Richard Gibbs

See the face of the shape of things to come

It feels so good to feel normal. My thoughts are clear as a lake on a windless day.

I even got an amazing idea for one painting I was thinking about making for the living room. I had the colours I wanted to paint, but no idea what to paint. Now I know, yet I have to stay patient because I can't buy a canvas until next months paycheck comes.

If I would ever get married, this is the song I would play in my wedding. "Nerdy" says someone who gets stuck on the title and the background of the song, but it is also hauntingly beautiful piece. And those who loved the show as much as I do also appreciate the story behind the song.

Some of you might not know who Bear McCreary is, but you most likely have heard at least some of the songs he has composed. I got to know this amazing composer through the earth-shaking soundtrack of Battlestar Galactica, but he has also created the soundtrack for The Walking Dead, and there's probably not that many people who wouldn't have heard the theme song of that show.
If his music intrigued you, go find out more.

I'll just absorb these beautiful melodies into me while enjoying the sunset and the feeling of normality.

But before that I have to share a great trailer of the show Battlestar Galactica, I assume made by a fan. But loyal fans can make the best trailers. It's a little preview of the show, but the show itself holds so much more.
Science fiction, which might be a curse word for some, but it's their loss. Outer space with it's breath-taking views, action, romance, mystery especially surrounding the scientist Gaius Baltar and the human-looking Cylon Number Six. The music really intensifies the scenes.
And since I have the gift of really getting into different kinds of great stories, it means a lot when music increases the marvelous experience.
For those who cannot dive deep into the story and the characters might not find the show enjoyment enough, but it's frankly their loss.
Others; enjoy!

 "I don't want to be human! I want to see gamma rays! I want to hear X-rays! And I want to - I want to smell dark matter! Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can't even express these things properly because I have to - I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid limiting spoken language! But I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws! And feel the wind of a supernova flowing over me! I'm a machine! And I can know much more!"