I’m going to have to go with Tilda Swinton on this one. The Lego Movie is quite possibly my favorite movie of the year. Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman have never done better work. I love Unikitty. The MicroManagers are the most useful shorthand for banality of evil ever. Totally down with the message about the Special. And, yep, the song is pretty awesome.

A book that I found while waiting for Slouching toward Bethlehem to become available at the library. I picked this one up and went through it at a gulp. I always forget how breathtakingly surgical and precise Didion’s writing is, how diligently she avoids the sentimental. But this is a remembering of her recently-passed daughter, Quintana, of her daughter’s childhood and an honest and unflinching account of her experience as a parent. The sentiment, when it comes, crashes like a hammer blow.

The title comes from the phenomenon of the lengthening blue light of late summer, soaking it in as long as it lasts, and the noticing when it begins to shorten and disappear as autumn comes on. I read the book in late August as that thing was happening. It also touches on the fading of memories, and the prospect of the end of one’s own life. A worthwhile read.

This little piece on Cowbird by Alex Noble – Summer Temple – gives me such a peaceful feeling. Very evocative writing, especially the image of moving from the hot afternoon into the cool temple as walking into a watermelon – lovely. I also really enjoy the idea of a summer afternoon nap as a prayerful path to peace.

This little article from Emily Asher-Perrin at Tor seems about right. I think Matt Smith may end up being “my” doctor. I’ve enjoyed Nos. 9 and 10, some wonderful stories and Donna is my favorite companion, but Matt’s pitch of whimsical alienhood and cantankerousness at the right sorts of things stole my heart. I’ve been a Peter Capaldi fan since ‘Local Hero’ so I know I will go with the new direction willingly, but I will miss the Raggedy Doctor.

And I love the acknowledgment of that collective ownership that all us Whovians, the fans who give themselves over, have toward the story, which makes it bigger than any one actor or writer/director.

When Your Doctor is No Longer the Doctor, How to Survive Regeneration