The Big Bang Theory: The Convention Conundrum

This week’s episode of TBBT was called The Convention Conundrum, why?! Well because it finally touched a topic long overdue: Comic Con!

 

Well, they don’t actually get to go to Comic Con in the episode, which is a shame, but they fail to get tickets, even after so many minutes of refreshing their screens. So, saddened by it, they find other solutions: Raj, Howard and Leonard decide to buy someone else’s tickets, while Sheldon, afraid to be banned from Comic Con forever, decides to set up his own convention.

Neither solution works out really well: the guys end up not doing it, afraid of being charged with theft and having to put that information when they apply for grants or residency visas (as well as being banned from Comic Con). Sheldon tries to contact several celebrities to panel in his convention without any luck.

Then Sheldon decides to stalk James Earl Jones, who finds him a delight and the two end up spending the whole night together, which includes a trip to a stripclub, knocking on Carrie Fisher’s house, karaoking and going to a steam room… together… so it turns out that this is not the kind of stuff Sheldon enjoys, and when James Earl Jones tells him that they could all go with him to Comic Con, because then he could take Sheldon out every night, he wasn’t overjoyed!

In the meanwhile, the girls, thinking that the boys are acting like such a band of teens, decide to prove that they are the adults, only to find out that being an adult isn’t that much fun! Bernadette still buys clothes at the kids department, Penny laughs out loud when old people fall and Amy never had sex (but if having sex would make you an adult, Penny would be the oldest….).

The episode was great, it’s always nice when they score such amazing guest stars, and James Earl Jones was just so at ease that it was impossible not to love Darth Vader. 

I do have a couple of issues with this episode.

The first one is, why it’s always only Jim Parson to interact with this huge guest stars? First Leonard Nimoy (albeit just his voice), Stephen Hawking, Stan Lee  (sure, Penny was there…) and now James Earl Jones and Carrie Fisher? Why don’t the other guys have equal opportunities to do just that? I know that Sheldon is supposed to be the most obsessed, and probably the only one who would think that it was OK to stalk someone while they’re having diner, but couldn’t the others just have some kind of similar opportunity? Don’t get me wrong, I love Jim Parsons and he’s amazing, but I happen to think the whole cast is amazing and deserve to shine as much as Jim.

My other problem is Penny! I thought in this season we were finally getting over the whole “you’re good for nothing” kind of jokes. What I mean is, the scene at the bar was going so well, until they split the bill in two and not three. I don’t think the writers had the need to go there. I know she never has money, but at least she looked embarrassed before when that was mentioned…

 

I love the girls on the show and I do think that they can’t do no wrong (that’s how good they are), but I feel that most of the times Penny is left to very little to do, most of the times is the drinking, or her shopping issues… she deserves more!

Broadchurch: “He’s right to be worried”… Don’t even!

After David Tennant expressed his worried on his character’s return for the second season of Broadchurch, given DI Alec Hardy’s lack of health, the series writer and creator Chris Chibnall just told Radiotimes that Tennant is right to be worried!

He’s right to be worried. He’s a king on the stage, he’s off doing an American show right now, I believe. He’s got a lot on his plate.

 

Chibnall is referring to Tennant’s work on Richard II and Gracepoint (American adaptation of Broadchurch), that just began shooting in Canada this week. He also mentioned that the only problem is not David’s busy schedule, but also the really poor health that Hardy had when we last saw him:

David’s very busy and Alec Hardy, at the end of series one, he was fired from the police, he had a heart problem – I don’t see how you come back. How would that happen?

The show is amazing either way, I’m not saying that losing David Tennant will kill it or anything, but one of the things I loved the most about the show was how different the two detectives were and how they made each other better. Hardy was really there for Miller in the end (he even called Ellie!!!) and it would be a shame not to maintain their professional interaction… I just hope he comes back for season 2, David and Olivia are great together.

Good news for Bones, Bad news for Sean

Fox announced yesterday that Bones was renewed for its 10th season. Although not exactly a surprise, given that it still does relatively well, I do hope they do not prolong it past that, I think they should end it while they’re still on top. Other bit of good news its the return of the drama to its previous time slot on Mondays – why they ever thought to put it on a Friday is beyond me.

On a more sour note, NBC has put a halt in the production of Sean Saves the World, which means that the show is basically canceled. It’s a shame really, the show is quite good and I find it far more entertaining that, for instance, The Michael J Fox Show. Really sad about this…

“100 per cent Rebel Time Lord”

It’s out! BBC has revealed via Twitter the outfit of Peter Capaldi’s timelord!

[tweet https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/427870468398272512]

It’s certainly different from Matt’s, simple, classic with a few nods to the past, such as the red lining of his coat.

“He’s woven the future from the cloth of the past. Simple, stark, and back to basics. No frills, no scarf, no messing, just 100 per cent Rebel Time Lord,” said Capaldi.

The first time I saw the picture, I wasn’t absolutely sure (the red lining threw me off), but now I like it! Can’t wait for season 8!

Broadchurch

Last night I finally decided to watch Broadchurch, the acclaimed and highly talked about, ITV drama, about the murder of a young boy in a small town and the efforts from the police to find the killer.

Let’s just say that I got hooked from the moment they show young Danny on top of that cliff, then, I watched all 8 episodes in a row… Wow, apart from the point that the story is fantastic, the direction is stellar and the writing is off the charts. You get interested in all of the characters, even knowing that one of them is a child killer.

Leading the show is none other than the brilliant David Tennant (and don’t worry, he doesn’t look that good on purpose) and Olivia Colman, who play the two lead investigators on the case. Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan, Matthew Gravelle, Jonathan Bailey, David Bradley and Arthur Darvill are just some of the actors that compose the great cast. I found David Bradley’s character particularly touching.

Broadchurch will be back for a second season, when it is not yet known. In the meantime, Fox has announced that a remake of the british drama is on the making, with David Tennant reprising his role as DI Hardy in the American drama renamed as Gracepoint. When the first season of Gracepoint and the second of Broadchurch will air is still undetermined, but poor David, he’s going to have a hell of a year!

I’m more than ever a fan of Mr David Tennant and his sexy scottish accent (that causes me to not understand half of what he says….)! Arthur Darvill can be hot even when he’s playing a vicar… damn you Rory Williams!

If you haven’t watched this amazing series yet, go for it! It’s one of the best dramas I ever saw… and I watch a lot of TV! The killer was the last person I would have thought, literally the last person! =| If I hadn’t read all the spoilers before I started to watched the show, I would have been seriously shocked. 

Law & Order: SVU… please don’t go there…

Last week in SVU we saw Cragen leave and leaving Benson in charge of the unit, while Amaro is still in a bad place due to the shooting and being on desk duty, and Rollins is gambling again.

Poor Olivia has a lot to deal with: her relationship with Brian doesn’t sound like it’s in a good place, Amato is not okay and dumping a lot on her and Amanda is not showing up on time because she’s gambling a lot. So the last shot of yesterday’s episode bummed me out. Why?! Because they showed Olivia drinking… a lot… a lot a lot.

So please SVU, do not go there! Don’t make Olivia have a drinking problem, please! There is already so much going on… she doesn’t deserve that!

Movie of the Week: The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street is one of the big movies of the year! Directed by Martin Scorsese and with amazing performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie, it’s 180 minutes of pure fun, entertainment and a look of what abuse can lead you to….

The movie is based in the autobiography of Jordan Belfort, with the same name as the movie, a tells the story of his success and downfall as a stockbroker in Long Island. How he adopted a lifestyle of sex and drugs, built a company, Stratton Oakmont, based on fraud, and along with his friends and business partners, got into a decadent lifestyle full of prostitutes, orgies, cocaine and quaaludes.

After divorcing from his first wife, marrying his second, fathering 2 children and having more money than he knew what to do with, he got into a scheme in order to put his money safely in Switzerland, given that the FBI was investigating him. In the end, he was caught and to avoid spending more time in prison, rated out on his friends, ending up catching only 36 months of jail time in a minimum security prison.  After his release, he makes a living hosting seminars on sales techniques.

I’ve never been a DiCaprio fan, not even back in Titanic’s times… but I have to admit that he does an amazing job in this movie. Just the scene after he takes the Lemons and gets so high that he can’t even talk or walk, is priceless and incredible credible. Well done!

Jonah Hill is also impressive in the movie, but the guy drew the short end of the stick… from vomiting, to eating a goldfish, to having to “masturbate” in front of everyone… one doesn’t leave the movie with a good image of his character.

Matthew McConaughey’s presence is minimal, although, undoubtedly, this has been a good year for him. But his time on screen and Jon Favreau’s is so minimal, and Favreau is so underuse that it’s a shame…

At some point, I have to admit, that all the nudity and drugs had an adverse affect on me, that is, it stopped being funny or shocking, just distasteful… The very funny scene where Naomi decides to provoke her husband but denies him sex would have been incredible, if it weren’t for the fact that their baby girl was supposedly right there in the crib…

Also worth mentioning that this movie holds the record for the most use of the word “fuck”.

But all and all, well worth spending three hours at the theater to watch this amazing movie.

Movie of the Week – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

I can’t express how sceptical I was about going to watch this movie, due to the fact that I liked the first one, but it was a bit of a bore and I wasn’t sure if I should go see it in the big screen or just wait for next year and watch all three of them in a row. That said, and after more than 1 month from its opening, I finally went to see it this past week, and I’m so glad I did!

Still not rising to the magnificence of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Desolation of Smaug is miles ahead of its predecessor, The Unexpected Journey. It’s action packed, doesn’t have dull moments, it has a lot of elves and a Dragon. Not to mention that it has Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace and Benedict Cumberbatch in the same 3 hour movie… (although, in fairness, we never see Benedict!).

This adventure takes us right to Erebor and past its hidden door. We meet the wood-elves, see Legolas again and the lovely Tauriel and his father, King Thranduil. Laketown and Bard, the Bowman and his children. We meet Smaug, the Necromancer and Sauron. And we get to know the Dwarves a little better, although it’s not nearly enough to make us care about all of them.

Although this movie still has some filling moments, such as the love triangle between the Elf Tauriel, Legolas and the Dwarf Kili, most of the scenes make sense and some action scenes are awesome, such as the barrel escape and anything really that involves the elves!

Awesome as well is Smaug! I don’t really know if it’s because the Dragon is so well made or because he’s voiced and moved by the incredible Benedict Cumberbatch, but at some point, I was rooting for Smaug! The whole scene was just 5 stars.

  

Just some thoughts:

I thought that Luke Evans couldn’t get any hotter that he already is… I was wrong, somehow that hair, the bow and the single father thing totally work for him.

Legolas, wow, how nice to see you again, I just thought the eyes were a little too blue this time around. But his archery is better than ever!

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, a.k.a., Sherlock and Watson, a.k.a., Smaug and Bilbo… wow… Martin doesn’t seize to amaze me. He’s brilliant! His interactions with his buddy in the movie are spectacular.

Radagast, The Brown, played by the amazing Sylvester McCoy (also known as the Seventh Doctor), deserves only good things! If you haven’t seen The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, you totally should, just to know how funny this whole “Hobbit” business really is.

Also, Stephen Fry… wow… I do hope we never see him like this ever again… disgustingly on point…

14 January 2014: The day that the Scientific Research in Portugal went back 20 years!

It’s a sad time for young scientists and Science in Portugal!

The results for the Individual PhD Grants and Post-Doc from FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) and the result is a cut of around 50% of the total number of grants, as you can see in the graphs below that show the number of grants given and the amount of applicants through the years (1st – PhD; 2nd – Post-Doc).

We didn’t have numbers so low for more than 2 decades! The President of FCT, Dr. Miguel Seabra, said that the it isn’t true that Portugal is investing less in Science, in fact, the amount of money invested this past year was larger than the previous years. He explains that we can’t look at this numbers and make this kind of statement, because FCT has been channeling the money a different way now: they are investing in the research centers, so that the centers themselves can hire PhD candidates and Doctors.

The problem is the Research Centers are saying that this is not true! Some are saying that the money they are granted is basically the same, the only difference is that they have to incorporate the budget for the researchers inside the money they get, which means: or you have the money but don’t have the people, or you have the people but don’t have the money! And you can’t do science without either!

We all expected cuts, it was obvious and expected, just like last year. But the numbers are overwhelming! To give an example, my area, which is Anthropology, had 99 candidates with only 6 of them receiving a grant. In total, 9 to 10% of all candidates received a PhD or postDoc grant… that’s way too low! In the same scientific field, in 2010, 19 grants were given between 47 candidates, and in 2011 (the year I got my grant) 17 in 44 were given… and back then, Anthropology stood alone, now it’s combined with 2 more fields…

It’s just so sad! You can read more about this: Público; SOL; RTP; Jornal I; Canal Superior; Noticias ao Minuto.

Liebster Award: Oh Yeah!

I was nominated for a Liebster Award! I want thank frikiorgullosa13 for nominating me for this, thank you so much! Thank you!

What is the Liebster Award

The Liebster Blog Award is an award for blogs with less than 200 followers. Liebster means “beloved” in German and a blog nominated for this award is “worth watching”.

  

Rules

Here are rules you should follow if you are nominated for a Liebster Award:

1. Link back to the blogger who nominated you
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you by the blogger who nominated you
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers
4. Go to the blogs you nominated and notify them of your nomination
5. Give your nominees 11 questions to answer

  

Answers

Here are the questions frikiorgullosa13 asked and my answers:

1. Who is your favorite Manga/Anime Character?

I grew up watching Sailor Moon. I watched it every day for years, in 2 languages and 2 different channels. A couple of yeas ago I tracked all the episodes and movies and watched it all over again… Yep! I like Sailor Moon!!! My favorite Anime/Manga characters are from SM: Haruka Tenoh, a.k.a. Sailor Uranus and Michiru Kaioh, a.k.a. Sailor Neptune. They are both just too awesome for words and I always found their relationship groundbreaking!

 2. Which is your favorite rock band?

I don’t have favorite groups, I listen to everything and anything as long as I like it. That said, there are two rock bands that are always present: I have 3 older brothers (2 boys & 1 girl), so when I was little, Bon Jovi was BIG in the house, so it’s definitely always there for me! K’s Choice marked my exams seasons in the University, so they were always there as well…

3. Which is your favorite animated Disney/Dreamworks movie?

This one is easy: Tangled!!!! Frying pan, anyone?!

4. What is your most precious treasure?

Definitely my nephews! Other than that, I would have to say my computer and 3 external hard drives. There is one (material) thing I can’t live without, and that is my TV shows and movies…

5. Have you ever thought of giving up on blogging? Yes/No? Why?

Since I started one year ago, no, not really! I’m amazed I’ve been able to keep it going so far, so no, I never thought of giving it up.

6. Which is your favorite Sci-fi TV show?

Doctor Who, no doubt about that.

7. What are you MOSTLY afraid of?

Failure… if you never try, you never fail, right? =/

8. Would you like to be on a Apocalipsis Zombie? Who would you like to be on your team (10 people)? What would be your massive weapon? And where would you like to be when it happens?

I wouldn’t like to be in one, but if I had to be, my team (of fictional characters) would be: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, the Doctor (10th), Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Castiel, River Song, Hermione Granger, Captain Mal Reynolds, Zoë Washburn. My weapon would be The Moment (I wanted Rose Tyler as well, but the Moment will do). I would like to be the hell away from it when it happens… that said: not NY or London, because we all know that’s where everything catastrophic happens.

9. Which is your favorite TV actor/actress?

Nathan Fillion and Kat Dennings.

10. What would you like to be : Timelord/ Wizard/ Detective/ Ninja/ Soul Reaper/ Demon/ Hobbit?

Detective or Wizard, all would depend on the companion.

11. Which is your favorite Book genre? And which book do you like the most?

Fantasy, real life is already a big enough drama. My favourite read is perhaps Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

   

Nominations

Now, here are my nominations for the Liebster Award:

1. Sleeping Geeks
2. Life and Other Disasters
3. It Does Not Do To Dwell On Dreams And Forget To Live
4. Horcruxes, Heroes, and Harry Potter
5. CG Media
6. The Casual Geek
7. MY Doctor Who
8. Jamie Michele
9. Smart Stunning Searching
10. @Number 71
11. The Pocket Guide to Lucy Locket

   

Questions

So here are my questions, and I found this the hardest part…

1. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?
2. Favorite Superhero? Why?
3. Favorite drama, comedy and SCi-Fi tv show?
4. What’s your TV guilty pleasure and why?
5. Which one is your Doctor? And Companion?
6. Which of the Deathly Hallows (Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone and Cloak of Invisibility) would you rather possess? Why?
7. Robert Downey Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch or Jonny Lee Miller, which one is the best Sherlock Holmes? And who is the best Watson, Jude Law, Martin Freeman or Lucy Liu?
8. Favorite comfort food?
9. What the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
10. What made you start blogging?
11. What’s your favorite post that you have written? (Share the Link please)

   

That’s a wrap

That’s it! I can’t even tell you how thankful I am to frikiorgullosa13 for nominating me =). Thanks again! I hope I continue to work on the blog and that it continues to grow ;-).