Letter meme!

[shivver]

alumfelga gave me 'M', so here it is!


Something I hate:
alumfelga said that "hate" is such a strong word, and changed it to "dislike". I'm going with that.

Moffat!! - Okay, not completely. Just what he did with Series 7b, 8, and 9. And while we're on the subject...
Me, meaning Ashildr
Mustard - The color, not the spice. I've never been fond of yellow, and mustard is disgusting yellow.

Something I love:
My husband - Okay, this is the only time I'm going to cheat by using the word "my".
Music - Performing more than listening. I'm not very good at it, but I love doing it.
McDonald, David - Ha, I figured out a way to mention him here!

Somewhere I've been:
Madison, Wisconsin
Makaha Beach
Marriott Hotel LAX - Gallifrey One

Somewhere I'd like to go:
Munich
Minsk - I have a friend there I'd love to visit.

Films and tv shows I like:
"Midnight" - I can choose DW episodes, too! Second favorite episode.
Mystery Men
M*A*S*H
Murder by Death
MCU

Books I like:
Mansfield Park

Things/people I like:
Master - The Big Finish audio. It's fantastic.
Moffett, Peter - I cheated again.
Math - Singular, just to bug my British friends. ;)
Metal ions - Such pretty colors in aqueous solutions! They're the reason I majored in inorganic chemistry.

Music by:
Murray Gold
Mannin Veen - Okay, this isn't "music by", but it's a piece we played in high school band that's just gorgeous. It's probably my favorite piece I've ever performed.

Comments

[tkel-paris.livejournal.com]

Okay, I have to ask. Just because I rarely run into someone else who would name Mansfield Park as a book they like.

What drew you to that book?

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Well, I have to admit that I couldn't think of another book that started with "M". I basically went down the list of authors I like and found a Jane Austen novel that started with "M".

That said, Mansfield Park is, I believe, my third favorite of Austen's books, behind Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. (The only one of her books I didn't like was Sense and Sensibility.) Fanny is about as far from Lizzie as an Austen heroine can get, but I loved her quiet strength, resolve, and patience. But I think the thing I liked best was the characterizations of the others. They all represented various foolish or immoral types, and they really brought their misfortunes on themselves, with Fanny staying steadfast among all of them. It was just a fascinating read.

[bas_math_girl]

We're all allowed a wee cheat, surely, and I love how you managed to mention Peter and David, but
Math - Singular, just to bug my British friends
that is low... BUT I did laugh quite a lot, you'll be pleased to know. :)

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Good answers, sweetie!

*HUGS*

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

It's funny, but "maths" bugs us Americans as much as "math" bugs you Brits. I know why it's "maths", but it's just so weird to us. You know, "science and maths"... "But 'science' is singular, so why should 'math' be plural???" :D

[bas_math_girl]

That singular part of 'science' does rather seem to depend on whether the word "the" is included, don't you find? In that you either do science OR the sciences. Weird when you think about it.

Some words are just woody and some tinny. It's the way of the world. ;)

[alumfelga.livejournal.com]

I'm with you about mustard colour. Ugly.

McDonald, David - Ha, I figured out a way to mention him here!
Oh, I made it too easy for you. I rejected D and T for that reason but McDonald didn't occur to me ;)

I can choose DW episodes, too!
Did I start a trend? ;)

Moffett, Peter - I cheated again.
And I thought I was clever not to pick F for you. There's always a way, and it's good it is :)

Math
Yay! It's not often when I hear such confession, most people seem to run away from Maths. I had to think very long to find a way to include it in my meme :) If you don't mind me asking, do you have any particular interests, or is it connected to your work?

Such pretty colors in aqueous solutions! They're the reason I majored in inorganic chemistry.
Sounds perfectly reasonable. We all want beauty around us. :)

You've done it so quickly!

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm sort of thinking of it in terms of the way the word was used in "School Reunion", where Mickey asks where the maths department was; in the US, that would be the math department. I'm assuming that it would be "the science department" on either side of the pond?

Of course, personally, being an Anglophile, I love trying to convert over to using the British version of words, which just makes my husband roll his eyes at me. :D

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

The challenge would be to find clever ways of referring to DT using each letter of the alphabet. I love the way you did it for "H". (Though, I thought his eyes were brown?)

I actually probably would not have gone with episodes that start with "M" if "Midnight" wasn't so perfect. It's my second favorite episode (behind HN/FoB - no one knew that's my favorite, right?). I wouldn't have copied you for anything less.

I've always loved math. My mom said that when I was in kindergarten (so, four years old), my teacher approached her and said that I was very good at math and that she should encourage that. I remember that she used to take me to school early and sit in the car and quiz me with flashcards, and learned multiplication two years before we learned it in school. I'm more of an application person, though, so I went toward the sciences in school, though in college I took a lot more math than I was required to for my chemistry degree, just because it was fun. I only had to do two semesters of calculus for, but I took four semesters, plus linear algebra, differential equations, engineering math, and probability and statistics.

I think that if I had decided to major in math, I would have gone into topology - I particularly like spatial, visual things, and especially love symmetry and groups. I also enjoy playing with numbers - you know, seeing patterns, playing with integers, that kind of thing. Recreational math. :)

[alumfelga.livejournal.com]

Though, I thought his eyes were brown?
Technically, hazel is a shade of brown, isn't it? But I agree, his eyes aren't quite hazel, despite some fanfic authors' descriptions. I suppose "brown" was too common for them ;) I just thought it was "close enough". I wouldn't have done it if his eyes were green :)

I love that you pointed it out :)

I actually probably would not have gone with episodes that start with "M" if "Midnight" wasn't so perfect. It's my second favorite episode (behind HN/FoB - no one knew that's my favorite, right?).
I'm totally with you about Midnight and Human Nature/The Family of Blood. I can't choose my favourites (true story - I wanted to make a list of my favourite ten episodes with the Tenth Doctor, failed, made that fifteen and still couldn't decide) but few times I went with those two above plus A Girl in the Fireplace.

I didn't include "Hide" for a similar reason - it didn't feel right to put such ordinary episode next to the excellent "Human Nature". With Sherlock, I value all episodes more or less the same so I just picked those that start with H.

I only had to do two semesters of calculus for, but I took four semesters, plus linear algebra, differential equations, engineering math, and probability and statistics.
That's a lot! I'm more of a theorist myself when it comes to Maths - but not when it becomes too abstract, like in some parts of algebra where the objects become so general I don't know what we're talking about anymore - but I like reading about the applications, in particular when it's surprising. Who would think complex numbers can be useful in describing flow of electric current?

I also enjoy playing with numbers - you know, seeing patterns, playing with integers, that kind of thing. Recreational math.
Me too. Problems and tasks for students in various contests can be very creative and it takes some time to solve them. It's also a good reminder that knowing more advanced tools isn't always an advantage - sometimes the answer is simple when you restate a problem in a different way :)

[paynesgrey.livejournal.com]

Great answers!

As for Mansfield Park, I'm ashamed to admit as an Austen fan that's the only book of hers I haven't read yet... I adored P&P and Emma. I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually...And I'll probably like it as well as you do. :)

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

McDonald, David - Ha, I figured out a way to mention him here!
Moffett, Peter - I cheated again.

ROFL I really like how creative we all are! I got the letter S and in music choices said “Scott Gill’s husband (John Barrowman)” ;)
I also just realized that if I had had M, I could have chosen MacGyver in my favorite TV series. Alas!

[dm12.livejournal.com]

You've been to Madison, WI?!?! I lived there for a few years, one of my kids went to UW Madison.

Love how you got DT in there, well done! He's actually going to be in Madison in a couple of weeks! Eldest is going....

Good to get your husband in there, too. That might earn you points.

Math(s) and Metal ions, I love it!! I always did wonder about that plural...

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Well, from what I understand, hazel is a shifting color, going from brown to green, with possibly some gold. In the lists I've seen, Matt Smith's eyes are hazel, William Hartnell's eyes are green, David Tennant's eyes are brown, and all of the other Doctors have blue eyes. However, like you said, close enough for this purpose! :D

I've tried to make a list of my favorite stories over all of DW, and it comes out to something like fifteen to twenty. However, my top two haven't changed since I first saw them: HN/FoB and Midnight. I will note that I've only seen Midnight twice - it's too stressful to watch casually.

I have an unhealthy fascination with probability. I have to admit that I'm not as familiar with the mathematics behind it as I'd like to be, but I do love games of chance. It's funny: I like to gamble, but not to win, but to observe probability in action. It's a good thing, though, because I don't play for very long - only enough to enjoy the risk - and therefore I don't lose a whole bunch. :)

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed Northanger Abbey. I think it's because I really identify with Catherine Morland, probably because I live in my imagination as much as she does, and I loved how she learned and grew through the events of the novel.

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I will always find a way to mention David Tennant. No obstacle you can throw in my way can stop me!

Ooo, MacGyver! I wish I had thought of that, to add to my list!

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Yup! I went to school at UIUC and went up to Madison a couple of times for school events. It's a nice town. I thought about going to see DT in Madison, but I decided against it because he's appearing with Billie Piper - she's not interesting enough to me to warrant the extra money to get half-time with DT. If he ever does a con alone again like he did in Raleigh last year, I'll be right there.

[paynesgrey.livejournal.com]

I know. Wasn't it one of her least received stories? I loved Northanger Abbey as well. It was really fun, and I loved the tone of it throughout. Did you see the BBC drama they made out of it recently. It was so good!

[alumfelga.livejournal.com]

So that's hazel?
http://images.enstarz.com/data/images/full/35524/matt-smith.jpg
It looks like something between grey and green to me...

I always thought hazel is more yellow-ish brown but Thesaurus says:
hazel - a shade of brown that is yellowish or reddish; it is a greenish shade of brown when used to describe the color of someone's eyes

I'm confused now :)

In the lists I've seen, Matt Smith's eyes are hazel, William Hartnell's eyes are green, David Tennant's eyes are brown, and all of the other Doctors have blue eyes.
There's so many Doctors with blue eyes? I didn't know :)

I have an unhealthy fascination with probability
One of the first tasks in my course of probability theory was to study Bertrand paradox. It bugged me for a while and destroyed my "naive" understanding of probability, my faith in "capturing randomness". I got over it and learnt to appreciate the tools the theory gives us but something was lost forever at that moment :)

It's a good thing, though, because I don't play for very long - only enough to enjoy the risk - and therefore I don't lose a whole bunch.
That's a relief! :)

[tkel-paris.livejournal.com]

Hmm... Well, that's a good point. I'd have to stop and think about letters, too.

It's strange for me. Mansfield Park has the most religious tone to me, something I'm not and haven't ever been. But I always felt proud of Fanny for standing firm to what she knew even if she felt she couldn't explain why. And I got why she felt she couldn't. It's a good thing Mr. Crawford's vices exposed him so soon, because I think she was so unused to standing up against so much pressure that her gentle heart and nature would've caved eventually. In fact, I wrote a story about that. I hope to polish it and publish it one day.

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

I did completely forget to add the "If you'd like to do this meme, let me know and I'll give you a letter" note at the end of the meme. However, if you feel like playing, how about "G"? :)

Yes, I know what you mean about the religious tone in MP; I felt the same way (and I'm also not religious in any way). I think it's because the novel is all about morality and Fanny standing by her beliefs even when completely surrounded by profligates and fools. Fanny is especially heroic because she had no one to support her and yet she still weathered it all, despite her own doubts, and came out with her beliefs intact.

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Yup! I had no idea what hazel really meant until I saw a Reddit article about the Doctor's eye colors and had to look it up to figure out why Eleven wasn't just listed as brown along with Ten. I used to say that my high school boyfriend had blond eyes to match his hair, but now I think he probably had hazel eyes.

Isn't it amazing that there are so many blue-eyed Doctors? I always thought that blue eyes went with blond hair, so I was surprised to hear that Four and Nine had blue eyes. Then I went and watched some of their episodes, and sure enough, blue eyes. It's just weird to me that Two, Four, and Nine (and Seven, I think) all have darker hair than Ten, but only Ten has brown eyes.

Oo, that's one of the really cool things about math, how it can sometimes show you that the world you think you know really doesn't work that way, and it's not just someone's opinion - it's cold, hard fact.

[dieastra.livejournal.com]

You can still add MacGyver, I won't tell! I did forget Shaun the Sheep and also added it later.

I grew up in Eastern Germany. It was only in 1989 when the world changed when we started to get TV from Western Germany. I caught up with a lot of series back then and MacGyver was one I really loved.

Later it had ended and was only in re-runs and I had no idea what Richard Anderson was doing. No internet, no news. Took me a long while to realize he was in Stargate. It was my first real fandom with conventions, fanfictions, international friends, everything. I hadn't even been a sci-fi fan before. In a way I still not am, I consider Doctor Who and Torchwood sci-fi light? I especially fell in love with Torchwood as it reminded me a lot of Stargate - mainly that it is set in our time, not in a future, just with ordinary people.

A friend had showed me a few episodes from the first new Doctor Who season long before it came to German TV and I liked it. I then later watched on German TV but they stopped after the second season due to bad ratings. So it was only years later when I came back to the fandom via Torchwood. That was in 2009 and Children of Earth was actually the first I ever saw and it blew me away. I am doing it all backwards ;)

Also, since I had started with the Ninth Doctor, the Tenth Doctor did not immediately click with me. I mean, not enough to go hunt for DVDs to watch on in English. This is why "Human Nature/Family of Blood" will always be a special episode for me, as it is the one that made me fall in love with David Tennant (although I still actually blame my friend's flat screen TV with its sharp picture for that LOL At home I still was watching on an old blurry TV). When he was not the Doctor but this nice English gentleman. You would have to be dead to not fall for him there. And all the emotions at the end.

After that, my friend and I took a whole weekend and watched all kinds of David Tennant stuff. It is where I saw Hamlet for the first time. David can be proud that he made me a Shakespeare fan!

This may possibly interest you - I was at the place where HN/FoB was shot! I'm sure you will recognize the houses: http://dieastra.livejournal.com/28644.html

[tkel-paris.livejournal.com]

I suppose so. :)

Ah, someone else who feels that way! Yes, and yet it's really about character and consequences. And yet consequences are part of each JA novel. It's just most readily seen here. There was a nice comparison of Mr. Crawford and Mr. Darcy that showed just how definitive their differences and fates were. (If I ever find that link again, I'll share it.)

[shivver13.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'd love to read that! I do love that Austen's characters get the fates they deserve, even if that isn't particularly realistic. I also like that the immoral characters don't usually realize that they've suffered a bad fate, or that they caused it themselves - and this is very realistic.

[tkel-paris.livejournal.com]

Fiction makes more sense than life, or at least the satisfying ones do. Which must be why I find a lot of the current DW unsatisfying. But anyway... I'll point you to it when it's ready to be seen.

And I posted with my answer to your letter prompt. :)