Pop Culture Roundup

First, breaking news: I have barbecue. Now don't you wish you were me?

Yeah, I thought not.

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It's been a while since I've done one of these, but I've been saving so much up, I might as well cover them all at once.

Dr. Who (vague spoilers follow) - I'm two episodes into the third season (not counting the Christmas special) and -- say it with me, now -- I miss Rose. But so does the Doctor, and that does my heart good. In my vague recollections of the old series, the Doctor never spent too much thought on ex-companions, so that proves that Rose is speshul and he loves her! Sigh. Maybe Ten and I can both move on together.

I enjoyed Donna, brash, plus-size, inelegant redhead that she was (not like she reminds me of anybody), and was all set to accept her as the new companion, when she went and proved to have too much sense to go gallivanting off to who knows where with a mysterious alien with genocidal tendencies. Actually, I think it might have just been that last bit that put her off.

Martha has yet to witness the Doctor's dark and deadly side, so for now she can get away with being all wide-eyed wonder and glee. The flirty-jealous angle is cute, too, although I'm much too hung up on Rose to ever hope that that blossoms into anything real. So far, I'm liking Martha. I like her family, too, and hope we see more of them. Rose's domestics were one of my favorite parts of the new series, one that I thought anchored it and gave it a lot of heart. I miss Jackie and Mickey almost as much as I miss Rose.

Mostly, I just love that the Doctor loves strong, intelligent women. It makes him quite the sexy.

Can't wait to see where this season is going.

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Spamalot - Tess and I took in some culture this weekend (what? Okay, yes, it's Monty Python. But it's also musical theater, so that makes it culture, so there!). I can tell you this: the show is not the movie, although it does share several classic scenes. It makes a lot of changes, too, though, and not just the increase in song and dance numbers. Most of the changes, I approved of. There were times, though, when I thought they got a little too wink-wink-nudge-nudge, we know we're on a stage, who needs a fourth wall? At times it crossed over from irony into preciousness territory. I also thought some of the lines were over-delivered, and it seemed like the lead actor was playing Tim Curry playing King Arthur instead of simply playing King Arthur. Those are all minor nitpicks, though, and overall, it was hilarious, and I loved it, and I feel I ought to point out that the Lady of the Lake was nothing less than fabulous. And I wish I'd bought myself a pair of killer bunny slippers.

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Cosmo - What? Coffee shops are too pop culture. This one is on Memorial, just north of 71st, across from Woodland Hills Mall, and from the outside looks more like a bar than a coffee shop. As I learned when Husband and I met our potential new BFFs there Saturday night, it's actually both, and also has a menu combining the best of both worlds of deli and bar food. All ages are welcome, although you have to be 21, natch, to approach the bar or get a shot of Bailey's in your cappuccino. They have a comfortable combination of restaurant-style table and chairs and coffee shop couture sofas and comfy chairs, with the requisite free wifi and a diverse selection of board games.

We killed a few hours there playing Apples to Apples and Trivial Pursuit, and killed a few more just hanging out and conversating. It was a pretty comfy and relaxed atmosphere, without a lot of the pretension you tend to find in a lot of Tulsa establishments. They also let us hang out there for a ridiculous length of time without giving us the stink eye, so that was nice. I liked it, and can see it becoming a regular hangout. My only quibble was some of the menu prices, which led me to expect bigger portions than what I got; but for the most part it was all pretty reasonable, and very much made of yum.

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Books - Last week I finished off The Android's Dream by Scalzi. That, I must say, was an enjoyable read. I've never been into hard-core SF, and this isn't really that, so that worked out pretty well. I'm trying to think of something to liken it to, and I'm having trouble coming up with anything. It's not quite wacky enough to compare to Hitchhiker's Guide, although there are moments where it comes close. At any rate, I found it to be a pretty good blend of action, adventure and satire, and there wasn't a single paragraph wherein I felt anything less than entertained. Good job, Scalzi.

Now I'm re-reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I waited a bit long to decide I want to re-read them all before I read The Deadly Hallows, but it shouldn't take me too long to breeze through them, even at my slow reading pace. Especially since I can skip the parts I find a bit tedious (I can understand wanting to keep newcomers in the loop, but really, one description of how Quidditch works is quite enough for me, thanks). And in other HP news, I still haven't seen the movie.

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And now I have cobbler. Go ahead and hate me now. I'll understand.