.
The Guardian explains “the story behind the Whodle“:
This summer, engineers at Google London added the Tardis to Google Street View, but that wasn’t enough for Doctor Who fans, 4,000 of whom have signed a petition asking Google to do a doodle for the show’s 50th Anniversary.
Today, those wishes were granted: not only did Google make the doodle, but the game gracing every Google homepage in the world today is one of the biggest the company has ever produced. But despite appearances, the “Whodle” – as it’s known internally – is the work of just five people, led by Matthew Cruickshank, a Brit who has been working at the company as a full-time doodler for just over a year.
“It’s the first game that I’ve designed,” he explains over the phone from California. “But it’s the technicians and programmers that actually make the game. I just art direct, create the assets, set the visual tone, design the characters, and then do pieces of animation.”
It’s not like Cruickshank has had much time to put everything together, either. Like all Google doodles, the idea wasn’t set in stone until a few months before. “It was about four months ago that an employee here who’s a massive Doctor Who fan added it to our list of potential doodles. We looked through it and realised that this was something special, a chance to really celebrate a national institution.”…
***********
Apart from that, Sarah Jane, what’s on the agenda for the day?
Little Boots
yeah, thread.
Little Boots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D5PtyrewSs
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: That’s the same song as the last thread.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I can’t help myself.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: I’ve noticed.
ETA: This might be of assistance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNahS3OHPwA
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
hey, that’s … well that’s pretty much true.
NotMax
Although any possible appeal or charm of the show has forever escaped me, I believe it is Doctor Who, and never, never Dr. Who.
Bad form, that.
Punchy
Dr…..who? Is this the otolaryngologist who worked on Pete Townshend?
OzarkHillbilly
The big freeze is moving in, high of 30 today, low of 17 tonite. Wash, repeat, and I still have a butt load of bulbs to get in the ground. As usual, my eyes are bigger than my days.
And the big Freese is moving on, as in David Freese from the evil empire STL Cards to Anaheim of the recent fleecing in the Albert Pujols drama. I think the Angels will do better this time around, but the Cards are probably much improved.
Kinda sad to see the kid go, Such a good kid with such a good story, winning the World Series for the hometown team and all, but it is probably better for him to go elsewhere now.
Live long and prosper.
WereBear
We’re supposed to get lower temps and snow all weekend, which is much better than the hovering-at-freezing, gray skies, and rain we’ve had this week.
This is the time of year we all say, “If we’re going to have winter, just give us winter.”
@OzarkHillbilly: Oh, yeah, I been there with the bulbs. Don’t get fancy. Dig a big hole and put many in and call it an “arrangement.”
Odd numbers.
Fort Geek
@Punchy: A favorite old joke, from when Pete Townsend revealed he was dealing with hearing loss–in a press release, Mr. Townsend announced that in observance of his condition, the band’s name would change from “The Who” to “The Huh?” (hand cupped over ear)
Chyron HR
How many levels do I have to play to get indoctrinated by the Gay Agenda?
OzarkHillbilly
@WereBear:
Good idea, I think I’ll do that. Tho it is going to be several holes.
WereBear
Yeah, I figured that, too :)
Don’t know how high up you are in the Ozarks, but when I realized bulbs were very cold-tolerant AND settle themselves into position over time, I stopped fussing and just dumped them into shallow graves, so to speak.
They fare better in the ground than in the shed, my motto.
mikej
@NotMax: I always thought that was a stupid rule. Of course names are never abbreviated, but that’s not his name, as far as we know. I don’t think it’s what he whispered to River at their wedding.
OzarkHillbilly
@WereBear:
In my shed they ain’t nothing but squirrel food. Of course, that pretty much describes most everything around here.
WereBear
@OzarkHillbilly: Yes, that’s why I love daffs and grape hyacinth; they are not tasty.
Here’s a helpful article to more bulbs that are not tasty.
So you can buy more of THOSE next year.
geg6
@NotMax:
OMG, there’s at least one other Juicer that doesn’t get all the love for that show around here? I thought I was the only one!
As for me, I’m off for the next week and I am getting started on the preparations for hosting the Thanksgiving family celebration.
Oh, and John asked me to marry him last night.
different-church-lady
Kennedy is shot on the 22nd. Dr. Who appears on the 23rd.
Can’t be a coincidence…
WereBear
@geg6: Well? What did you SAY?!?!?
But you know… it will give the dogs a last name.
SiubhanDuinne
@geg6: Woot!!! Of course you said yes, yes? Big congrats and good wishes to you both.
Johannes
It’th the Thilurians, Tharah Jane, as Jon Pertwee might thay.
JPL
@geg6: Congrats to both of you and the pups.!
WereBear
And, I’m in the Pet Life Radio holiday gift guide!
Do cats understand gifts?
How to give kitties gifts we will all enjoy.
MikeJ
@different-church-lady: They reran the first ep the next week because the ratings were meh the first week due to the assassination. According to the movie they showed last night anyway. And of course the second week they had 10 million viewers in a country of 50 million people. To be fair their options were somewhat limited.
Baud
@geg6:
Whoa! Don’t you think we should meet him first?
OzarkHillbilly
@geg6:
He’s a bum. How do I know? He’s a man isn’t he? And I have a lifetime of experience being a man and being around men and we’re all….
Oh hell, You aren’t even listening, are you?
geg6
Thanks all. Haven’t answered yet simply due to my lifelong antipathy to the institution. If he really wants to do it, though, I’ll play along, I guess. Now that I’m 55 (well, not until tomorrow anyway), it doesn’t seem like the trap it seemed to me to be when I was young. Feels weird to even be thinking about marriage when I never have up until now.
Botsplainer
I never have gotten the love for Dr Who, and my eyes glaze over about it.
It must be another one of those goddamn boomer things.
Oh well, plus ca change.
danielx
COLD is on the agenda today, thankyewverymuch. That and the last of the leaves. Oh, and cleaning house since my ever so judgmental sister in law is visiting this week.
@geg6:
I regret to say that @OzarkHillbilly has it correct – men are pigs (Duroc here, yay!). But congratulations anyway; it’s always nice to have someone around to make you chicken soup when you’re sick.
JPL
@geg6: I’ll play along, I guess
Does this mean you are telling us first? It goes without saying, you have my permission, not that it means much.
dmsilev
@geg6: My aunt and uncle were like that; they lived together for something like 25 years before deciding more or less out of the blue to get married.
Congratulations, and be sure to throw yourselves one heck of a party.
geg6
@JPL:
Sadly, yes. Balloon Juicers are the first ones to get the news. John is sleeping, so he’s not conscious enough to know he’s gotten an answer.
OzarkHillbilly
@geg6: On the plus side marriage makes one eligible for survivors benefits from SS and if he has a pension you get that when he dies. That’s why I married my wife, so she could get my carpenters pension after I’m gone (otherwise the union just folds it back into the pension fund). I figured after 6 years, she’d earned it.
I know. I am such a romantic.
geg6
@dmsilev:
That’s almost exactly what happened with us. We’re watching the Pens game last night and he goes to get the pizza that was just delivered and as he’s walking back into the sunroom with the pizza he says do I want to get married. Such a romantic, right? LOL!
Woodrowfan
@Botsplainer: some of my (college) students are all excited about it. As are some of my Gen X friends. Actually, none of my early Boomer friends are Whovians. Maybe it’s a late-Boomer/Gen X thing mostly??
mai naem
@geg6: Congrats.
I don’t get the Doctor Who thing. I don’t even get Star Trek. I loved Hitchhikers Guide though, so I’m not against the genre and I love British TV. They are rerunning To the Manor Born on PBS here which I loved when we lived in England, but, I’m afraid it hasn’t aged well.
I think Steve Kornacki does better with Up than Chris Hayes which I’m surprised with because Chris did such a good job with it. I love Kornacki’s political nerd historical trivia.
NotMax
@Botsplainer
As a red-blooded, true blue boomer (got my membership card and everything), can attest it is not.
All the people here whom I know and who are rabid about the show are in their thirties.
OzarkHillbilly
@dmsilev:
This. My wife and I got married in a cave in the Shannon Co wilderness of the MO Ozarks, then had one hell of a party on the gravel bar. Lots of good people, good food, and free beer (for some, not me).
Not for everybody but the good people, good food, and free beer is always a winning recipe.
Poopyman
@geg6: Why did he ask? You’ve made it sound like you were both OK with the status quo.
NotMax
@mai naem
No, it hasn’t aged all that well. Neither has Good Neighbors.
But regardless, Penelope Keith had that stuffy subset of British women role down pat.
mai naem
So I have a question that probably should be asked i a later Open Thread but I’ll be working. So, my niece wants to submit an essay for the JFK profiles in courage essay competition. The rules(from memory) are no Kennedys and no Presidents and I believe it has to be a post war politician. Past people profiled winners have been Howard Dean, Shirley Chisholm and a mayor from a small town in CA who pushed for some environmental stuff which was unpopular and was going to cost jobs. So any suggestions? I suggested Hickenlooper and the Colorado Senate leader who got kicked out in the recalll but she didn’t think there was enough meat there.
piratedan
congrats geg6!
sitting here in the darkness of the morning, feeling a bit down. Spouse has been training for Tour de Tucson all year and while we’re well known for sunshine well over 320 days a year, sadly today will not be one of them. Been raining since Thursday night here in the desert, so there will be grit all over the road course and maybe even some running water and the cyclists least favorite condition, wind. Just feel bad that her ride will be against the elements and not the glorious outing in the sunshine that is always hoped for….
also, condolences to those attending the Oregon/Arizona game today, gonna be yucky out…. looks like duck weather indeed.
Baud
@geg6:
Hmmm. Sounds to me like he wanted to ask you for some time, and finally got up the nerve to ask you in an innocuous way (perhaps knowing your views on marriage.)
piratedan
@mai naem: I would suggest Gabby Giffords (or maybe even Mark Kirk)
NotMax
@mai naem
Barbara Jordan.
geg6
@Poopyman:
Not sure, but for one thing, he’s much more a traditionalist than I am. So I’m sure that’s part of it. Plus, his daughter has been planning her wedding (next August) and it has him very emotional. And lastly, he does truly love me. Of that, I have no doubt.
MomSense
@geg6:
Very happy for you!
@Woodrowfan:
Gen X Whovian here.
geg6
@Baud:
You are probably right.
WereBear
@NotMax: Too true, used to be favorites.
However, Are You Being Served? still makes me laugh, and a few years ago I introduced Mr WereBear to it; he had somehow missed it.
Now he adores it!
OzarkHillbilly
@mai naem: Shirley Sherrod. The woman is my hero.
WereBear
@mai naem: How about Harvey Milk?
I’m reading Randy Shilts’ book on him right now; fascinating. And he was risking everything by being so open. And it cost him everything.
Baud
For the record, I blame gay marriage for geg6’s impending nuptials.
NotMax
@WereBear
If he’s never seen them, might one humbly suggest also ‘Allo, ‘allo and Keeping Up Appearances.
geg6
@Baud:
I blame Obama myself.
Betty Cracker
@Woodrowfan: Doctor Who is all the rage with nerdy teens like my kiddo and her friends. I don’t think the phenom is limited to their little clique either because DW paraphernalia is widely sold at stores catering to adolescents.
dmsilev
@Baud: Don’t forget to blame Obama as well.
satby
@geg6: Well, congrats! Sounds like you’ve decided to go for it.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud:
Or not. In my case I had been thinking about it off and on for awhile, we had both been thru the mill on it before so it was not a question which we did not know the downsides of. But nerves were not a part of it or being innocuous, just once I had made a decision, I asked… 5 seconds later. We were putting groceries away.
WereBear
@NotMax: Thanks! We both are fans of Keeping Up Appearances, yet both missed ‘Allo, and I’ve heard good things.
satby
Congrats geg6! Go for it!
mai naem
@piratedan: Gabby Giffords was the winner of the actual award last year. Why Mark Kirk? His stroke?
@WereBear: I think Harvey Milk has won in the past but I’ll look it up.
WereBear
I tease Mr WereBear that I didn’t even get asked! In conversation, he said something like, “Once we’re married…”
I pointed out that he must have skipped a step. Once prompted, he gave me an amethyst and the down-on-one-knee, so it’s all good.
Betty Cracker
@geg6: Here’s how obtuse I am: at first, I thought you meant John COLE and assumed you were joking! Congrats! [shuffles off to get more coffee…]
piratedan
@mai naem: ding ding ding…. although I would gladly offer Tammy Duckworth as a non-Republican alternative, just trying to say that yeah, even R’s can struggle to serve and Kirk’s recovery from stroke has been an arduous one.
NotMax
@WereBear
Also too, and must stress it is not meant as a comedy, Misfits.
Only if you and he don’t mind segments of violent mayhem and/or some characters with few if any endearing qualities. It certainly is not everyone’s cup o’ tea but if one gets into it, it will grow on you.
Think X-Men if written by David Lynch.
Seasons 1 & 2 top-notch.
Season 3 showed significant slippage.
Season 4 danced on the borderline of awfulness.
So far, season 5 has redeemed the production team for the fourth year.
geg6
@Betty Cracker:
Eh, it’s early on a Saturday. But I’d never marry Cole. He’d probably break a hip in a bizarre rose petal accident while walking down the aisle.
Elizabelle
@geg6:
Congratulations to you and John. How romantic,and practical.
The pups will have to wear special colors that day.
WereBear
@NotMax: It does sound like our cuppa, actually.
Mr WereBear is working on a novel and even the season four slippage can be used as learning moments. Especially if they redeem themselves :)
Botsplainer
I was always a Trek guy, and actually find some redeeming aspects to season 1 of Lost in Space.
Space 1999 had its moments too.
JPL
@geg6: I have a friend who has now been married for over a decade even though they have been together for thirty years. Anyway her decision was based on the fact the neighborhood children were calling her Mrs. anyway. Guess what their relationship was strong before and it’s still strong.
PurpleGirl
I’ve been a fringe fan of Dr. Who. I’ve not watched it on a regular basis. Actually I like the early, tacky, low tech scenery and props better than the new, sleek, designer and arty shows.
NotMax
@WereBear
Will again recommend an Australian series taking place in the 1850s which got only one 13-episode season, Wild Boys.
Sort of an edgy, gritty Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And gorgeous cinematography.
Some kind soul (guessing someone involved in the show) has put up all the eps in nice quality in their entirety on YouTube.
mai naem
@geg6: Lol, he’d have Lily as the ring bearer and Rosie would get jealous and run in and trip Cole when he grabbing hold of the ring. I know I shouldn’t be joking about Rosie since she’s not been doing well.
WereBear
Hope you didn’t hurt yourself because that would be quite a strain.
NotMax
@Botsplainer
Yup, both of them.
SF on TV was such a rarity in those years that nevertheless labored through every episode.
Same with The Starlost.
Elizabelle
@mai naem:
Short political term, but maybe your niece could write about Anh “Joseph” Cao.
One-term congressman from Louisiana — Republican elected in wake of Jefferson (freezer cash) scandal. First Vietnamese-American congressperson, and hardly a rabid partisan.
Provided a crucial vote for Nancy Pelosi during early ACA maneuvering; did not support the final vote.
NPR says he was brought down by his opposition to abortion (he’s Catholic and considered becoming a priest earlier in life), which did not sit well with his Democratic constituents.
Still, I think Congressman Cao lived his principles during his 2 years in Washington, and maybe we’ve not heard the last from him.
From NPR piece:
geg6
@mai naem:
LOL! Exactly!
WereBear
Not that I didn’t find redeeming value in the War of the Worlds series (which was like 2 different series) and even UFO.
Science fiction fans had to take what came down the pike in those days.
mai naem
@NotMax: I’ll suggest Jordan to her.
@OzarkHillbilly: Has to be an elected official.
I was trying to find somebody healthcare related but there’s just something against my nature to suggest some GOP governor who expanded medicaid in a red state. Ugh, I don’t consider it political courage even though it realistically is. I considered suggesting Harry Reid with O-care since he was up for election in ’10 in a purple state and his earlier stuff with the Nevada Boxing Commission.
mai naem
@Elizabelle: ooh, that’s a good one definitely going to suggest Cao. I remember that.
Kirbster
@mai naem: If it has to be a politician, I’d nominate John Lewis. I can’t imagine the kind of courage it must have taken to march in the South for civil rights in the early sixties, knowing that you’d be facing hostile crowds, baton-wielding police, attack dogs, and firehoses.
Nicole
As someone who was ridiculed at school in the 1980s for my love of reruns of Doctor Who (on PBS, back in those days), it’s pretty gratifying to see how popular it is now, even if I don’t watch it the way I did then. I started watching it about a month after my mom died, and the adventures of the Doctor, Sarah (and then Leela) was a much beloved and needed escape for a very sad little girl back then.
Though I think the reboot is very, very good, I was a huge Sarah Jane fan, and it’s not quite the same for me now that Elisabeth Sladen is gone. But happy 50th, Doctor Who! You are indeed a citizen of the universe and a gentleman to boot.
MikeJ
@Nicole: Sarah Jane was actually in four or five eps of the reboot too. Not to mention The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Elizabelle
@Kirbster:
Good suggestion.
What’s more, John Lewis is co-author of a recent graphic novel series, “March”, about the civil rights struggle. Touching on the use of comics and underground art in dissension could be cool.
Amir Khalid
@geg6:
Congratulations! You will remember to show us the wedding pix, right?
Elizabelle
@mai naem:
Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky is a Democrat whose Kentucky health exchange has gone smoothly.
Haven’t researched much, but I was wondering if the fact that he’s term-limited gave him the impetus to go for broke on setting up the health exchange.
Randy P
@NotMax:
Harlan Ellison is extremely bitter about that show and has written at length about conceiving it, having it destroyed in the process of being brought to screen, and then taking his name off of it. The pilot may have been his, and I think he eventually wrote a novel.
When you identify particularly good sci-fi from that era (certain episodes of the original Star Trek for instance), Ellison’s name is often associated with it somewhere.
I admit to being a boomer who never watched a Doctor Who, though I had friends who were rabid fans.
NotMax
@RandyP
IIRC, the program used his nom de tantrum, Cordwainer Bird.
It was an open secret that the pseudonym was used on projects of which he did not approve.
Elizabelle
Another profile in courage could be Marjorie Margolies, who served one term in Congress from PA. She voted to raise taxes with a Clinton budget, and supported healthcare reform.
– See more at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/03/marjorie-margoliesmezvinsky-haunts-democrats-as-obama-stumps-to-push-health-care-over-finish-line.html#sthash.BUVOFIBk.dpuf
Margolies is now Chelsea Clinton’s mother in law.
WereBear
@NotMax: I was once sick in bed and stumbled into watching an ancient episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. (Black and white, if that’s a hint.)
When I saw the episode had been written by Cordwainer Bird, it made me laugh. Pretty good episode… would have been better if done as written, no doubt.
Oh, that story about him and an executive on the show? Mostly true. Someone did get hurt and a stuffed marlin was involved.
geg6
@Elizabelle:
As a PA resident, I second that. She threw herself in front of the train and deserves kudos for it.
Woodrowfan
@geg6: Congrats! My sis-in-law and her hubby did the same thing. Lived together for many years, then got hitched. they’re still pretty happy.. I hope you 2 will be happy too…
Woodrowfan
@Betty Cracker: Good for them! Start them off right!
Nicole
@MikeJ: I saw them all, and wept through “School Reunion.” Her spinoff was pretty decent for a kids’ program(me), I thought.
I like the new show; it’s just not appointment TV. I think I’ve liked Donna best of the new companions, but they all have their merits.
handsmile
@mai naem:
Thirding (with Kirbster and Elizabelle) the suggestion of Congressman John Lewis for your niece’s project. A paragon of courage and personal commitment, even in the face of violence, to principle.
If your niece might be inclined to choose a woman, I’d offer Bella Abzug, a feminist pioneer, social activist, and overall kickass. She served in Congress for only 2 or 3 terms, however, so that may be deemed insufficient for the award critieria.
Re Doctor Who
As this seems to be the thread where a select few Juicers confess their immunity to the Doctor’s charms, I’ll admit I’ve never seen an entire single episode of the series. Tried again just a few days ago (with Tennant as Who), but nope, couldn’t do it.
That said, I will watch at least one upcoming episode now that Peter Capaldi has taken on the role, but that’s entirely due to my reverence for the actor.
Also too, no love for As Time Goes By hereabouts?
burnspbesq
Merseyside derby was worth waking up at 4:30 to see. A classic. And yes, Amir, Mirallas should absolutely have been sent off.
Congrats, geg6.
Elizabelle
WaPost op ed by Marjorie Margolies, from March 2010, during the ACA legislative battle:
hildebrand
I started watching when PBS was running the Tom Baker era shows, lost interest when Colin Baker hit the scene, and was excited when it rebooted in 2005. I have always enjoyed the show thoroughly – my Mom knit a long scarf for me – it was something the two of us watched each Saturday (it was a good run of shows on our PBS station those nights – Benny Hill, Monty Python, then Doctor Who). My kids love the show, my son really liked the David Tennant era, and my daughter is heartbroken that Matt Smith is leaving the show.
schrodinger's cat
Open thread needs a Caturday Kitteh
ruemara
I think my last camera just died. Nothing happens when I press the on button. Traveling to the Bay to live up to my promise to visit a friend. I shall be trying to not fling myself into traffic so I can stop being the universe’s fucking chew toy. Maybe the camera is just too cold to work? Can’t believe this.
handsmile
@ruemara:
New batteries, maybe? (let’s hope.) And do please stay on the sidewalk!
Yatsuno
@Nicole: I wish wish wish Elisabeth Sladen could have lived to see the 50th since I have zero doubt she would have been involved. She has interacted with more incarnations of the Doctor than any other companion. But she went so fast. Cancer sucks.
@geg6: You haven’t answered the most important question: DOES KODAPUPPEH APPROVE?? My guess is yes but hey.
And as a fellow anti-marriage type, I do have one exception. If the NYD got in his dress blues and on one knee…
Nicole
@Yatsuno: Yeah; I’m sure Sladen would have loved to have been a part of the 50th. :( Cancer does suck (it’s what took my mom, too, though at a much younger age than Elisabeth Sladen).
I watched the episode “The Death of the Doctor” from The Sarah Jane Adventures, in which Jo Grant appeared. It was pretty cute, and great fun to see two of my favorite companions meet each other. After Sladen’s death, Katy Manning talked about how they bonded during filming, sharing stories about working with Jon Pertwee. Awww….
handsmile
@geg6:
[because I neglected to write this earlier…]
Warmest congratulations! As for “playing along,” you already know all (or at least most) of the rules of this particular game. (I must admit that, like Betty C. above (#64), I first thought it was a joke about this blog’s proprietor.)
Enjoy fully your final day of 54, also too!
fergie
I’m headed out to the theater for the Doctor’s Day! Happy 50tieth and many many more. I look forward to Christopher Eccelston’s return in the 100dreth!
I love the Doctor (all of them)
fergie
RSA
I watched Doctor Who off and on in the ’70s and ’80s, which meant Tom Baker. I suspect part of the reason people my age can be fanatical about the show is that back then you couldn’t just fire up youtube or Netflix to catch a TV show; you had to find it on broadcast TV or get your hands on videotapes. That’s a time investment, now a sunk cost.
Nowadays I’m a huge fan of the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant seasons. Matt Smith never caught on with me, but I’m guessing that’s partly because of changes to the writing and producing staff, if I remember correctly. I’ll give Peter Capaldi a try; I liked him in Neverwhere and various movies.