Top Female Characters On TV #3

It's a sad day when you realise you have made a huge mistake on your blog but nobody corrected you. I guess no one reads these blogs, but it's okay because while it would be nice to have someone read what I write I know I've only been doing this for less than a year, and it's gonna take some time to build up a fan base. The last post I wrote listed Laura Roslin as entrant number 5, but that was Christina Yang. Roslin is number 4. 


This weeks entry goes to my third favourite female character on TV: Claudia Donovan

I don't own this photo, but how adorable is it?

Claudia is such a tremendous female character on TV, and it speaks to the intelligence of writers on TV because there are now a lot of flawed characters on TV. Looking back even a few years on TV most of the main female leads are just cookie-cutter perfect. Claudia is fantastic at her job, but she is in no way perfect.

Young Claudia begins her stint in the hit SyFy series Warehouse 13 as a slightly tweeked hacker who kidnaps Warehouse agent Artie to force him to bring her brother back into existence. I love Claudia for this because her brother raised her, he is her only ‘real’ family. When she thought she was going crazy and seeing his ghost floating around, she checked herself into a mental hospital to get some help, but when she found out that Joshua wasn’t really dead she did everything in her power to bring him back.

Even though she has all these amazing abilities, one of the reasons I love Claudia is because she isn’t perfect. Claudia is very confident of her own abilities, and with good reason, but because of her intelligence and way of life she has very poor self confidence around people her own age, especially with males. The limited times we have seen her with young men she is always awkward, scared, and very un-Claudia.

Claudia is also trying to change this and to be a better Warehouse agent. She isn’t going to be a full agent right away---she is only 20---but she is trying to do her best and learning. Every episode, Claudia is moving and growing. Allison Scagliotti is a fabulous young actress who has a big future ahead of her; I only hope that she spends a lot of time on Warehouse 13.

Claudia only got three votes on my FaceBook poll. 

So what does everyone else think about Claudia? Does she deserve this spot on the list, or could she be higher? Let me know in the comments... if anyone is reading this :P

Kathy

Themes: Top Female Characters on TV, Favourite Female Characters, Claudia Donovan, Allison Scagliotti, Alison Scagliotti, Scag, science fiction

Top Female Characters On TV #5

I don't own this photo

Today I'm going back to the top female characters list with the number four entry; Laura Roslin (played by the lovely Mary McDonnell) in the reimagining of Battlestar: Galactica.

After falling into the role of President, Roslin has a lot of hard decisions to make and she has to make them throughout her entire term (and even after). One thing that really stands out to me about Roslin is her unwavering hatred of the Cylons. This might sound like an odd thing, but before I started the series I thought she would be the one to try and help them the rest of humanity see the good in the Cylons, but instead Roslin’s flaw is her distrust for the Cylons and everything that they stand for. Roslin is such a strong character thrown into such horrible situations and she has to suck it up and deal. There are a lot of things that she did that people didn’t like but she felt comfortable in doing them because she was so sure that she was right, that she was helping people.

She is also a very faithful woman, and I really like that about her. I am a faithful woman and I love it when people of faith and belief are treated well and with respect on television. And by that I mean the character as a character was treated with respect even when the character onscreen was being mocked.

Mary McDonald is such a terrific actress, and some of her best moments are when she is playing Roslin. We see her strength and courage when she is being strong, but we also see her sadness and moments of weakness too. Roslin did a lot of things that I didn’t like too much, but she did them with such conviction that I have to respect her for making them.

I forgot to add Laura onto my FaceBook poll, and nobody added her. 

Let me know your thoughts about Laura in the comments. 

Kathy

Themes: Battlestar Galactica, Favourite Female Characters, Top Female Characters on TV, Laura Roslin, Mary McDonnell

Birthday Memories 2011

It was my birthday on Saturday, and this blog is going to be quite self-referential for a moment when I list my favourite memories of the day. Many of my readers won't be 'in' on the joke of some of the memories, but this isn't a blog to make you feel left out or to boast about my fantastic life. It's to be a reminder of the great day, one that will hopefully stand the test of time. When those inevitable sad and lonely moments arise I will be able to look back at this entry and smile and maybe even laugh a little. I also hope that this post will encourage others to post about days that seemed perfect. On this list are some moments that, after they happened, felt like they belong in some sort of movie. They were surreal moments that you think could only exist in sound stages after multiple takes and camera set ups. Yet these are the real moments that happen in our day to day lives. I want you all to remember the little things that spark joy and wonder and uncontrollable laughter in your lives. Post them here in the comments, on your own blog, Twitter or FaceBook, or just write them down on a piece of paper or sticky note to keep near you so you too can remember them.
Birthday Memories 2011:
- Getting lost on the way out of a service station car park
-Turn around, bright eyes ;)
-Seeing a McKinley High cheerleader walking next to a person in full Slytherin house gear
-Talking to friends I haven't seen in a long time
-Getting a hug from Christopher Lloyd
-Falling asleep to Boondock Saints


But my most favourite memory of the day is one of the ones that I didn't think ever happens in real life. My favourite memory from my birthday is sitting in a car full of some of my best friends and family in the world singing along with The Proclaimers "500 Miles" while going 110 down the highway. Well, maybe shouting along is the better word.


So post away and let's all share in the wonder and delight of your favourite memories.


Kathy

Armageddon Expo

http://www.armageddonexpo.com/au/

October is Armageddon time, at least in this household. By Armageddon I don't mean the end of the world, I mean one of the country's biggest and best conventions. Look up "fun" in the thesaurus and all of those words after it? That's who you explain Arma. Only more. Every convention is different to each individual visitor, and for me Arma means an interstate holiday to Melbourne in Victoria. At home conventions have a very different atmosphere to away cons, even when you're just crashing on a friends house or sleeping on their floor. The very fact that you have to make this con an extended trip makes the whole thing a lot more fun, and a lot more tiring. 

You never get enough sleep at a con. Even if you plan everything perfectly and you manage to slip in 6 hours sleep every night, you'll wake up feeling tired. Because a con is at least two days of standing and walking around. There will be some moments when you sit down, but most of the time you'll be standing in one line or another, standing in a photograph, or walking around the expo floor. And as we all know, standing is exhausting. 

Every Arma has been different for me. I've never been with or stayed with exactly the same people more than once. Coincidence? Maybe... But this year was different again because we stayed in a different hotel. The usual hotel was booked out so we stayed in Melbourne Short Stay apartments that weren't a lot further away from the convention hall. 

http://www.shortstayapartments.com.au/s_southbank_apartments.php

http://www.shortstayapartments.com.au/s_southbank_apartments.php

The weekend is a bit of a blur because so much happened, and I can't remember when exactly everything happened. I remember having to get up very early every morning!

Before the event there was an issue with the posting so we didn't get our passes in time, which meant having to line up twice on Saturday to get in; once to get the pass and once to get in. But they dealt with it very well and it was all organised and the like so it was more of a nuicence than an inconvenience. 

Over the weekend I got two photographs with Mark A Sheppard and one with Amanda Tapping, as well as an autograph from each of these actors plus Nicholas Brendan. 

Everybody was extremely nice, and I still can't decide who was the nicest out of Amanda and Mark. Both are such wonderful actors and it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking of Mark as a mean guy due to his characters, but he is a very smart and genuinely great guy. He knows a lot about the industry and has been in it enough years to know the score. He seems to really like the changes that have come about since the fans of TV have begun to take over—fans like Joss Whedon, Ron Moore, Russell T Davies etc. 

Amanda is like a dream. I'm sure you've heard plenty of times that she is really sweet in real life, but I am just another person to tell you that. Only it's true. She seems to happy to be with her fans and she always thanks you for coming along and talking. She even had a quick chat with my friend whom had been waiting in line for quite a while. At one point there was a hold up with the photograph booth when Amanda was waiting. On a desk were the photos from the weekend waiting to be picked up by the owners. Without a second waiting, Amanda grabbed a handful of them and began to hand them out to their owners. 

I didn't spend a lot of time with Nick Brendan because I was very nervous, and I only got an autograph with him. 

This was such a great weekend, kudos to the entire Arma team as well as Mark, Amanda, and Nick. I look forward to meeting you all again. 

Kathy

Themes:Armageddon Expo, Arma, arma, Mark A Sheppard, Mark Sheppard, Amanda Tapping, Nicholas Brendan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 

Similarities between myself and a baby

My partner’s sister recently had a baby, and this is the more awesome baby in the world. She even beats out me in my ‘world’s best baby’ competition, which is saying something. The more time I spend with this bundle of adorableness, the more I realise how similar we are. We are not related by blood but there is a definite connection between us.

They had some minor problems with the baby at first because she wasn’t getting a enough to eat, and when this happened the poor thing would go into complete meltdowns where she would clench her tiny fists and rock back and forth—basically, she would freak out. It would have been adorable if it wasn’t so loud. For those who know me, I do pretty much the same thing when I don’t get enough food. Oh, the temper tantrums that I have done when I thought I was getting a nice large dinner and ended up only have entrees. Not a happy camper.

But don’t worry because the new parents figured out the issue and now the baby is eating properly and again, more similarities between us. When they are feeding the baby they have to pull the bottle out half way through because she will eat/drink so fast that she makes herself sick. Hands up if you have ever been so hungry that you have eaten so much so quickly that you got sick. Okay, I’m going to stop that now because it’s hard to type with both hands in the air. I like that there is a way to stop her making herself sick and I wish this was a lesson that carried over into adulthood.

We are both similar in that we both have low attention spans. Again, related to feeding, the parents have found that if they keep swapping the baby from person to person and keep changing her position she will forget that she was hungry for a minute or two. First they hold her on her back in her arms, and then when she starts crying they hold her over their shoulder and she stops crying! I have been known to go hours without food because something new and shiny has come across my vision and I forget that I was going to eat! And I’m sure you all have done that, too.

And another similarity between us; we are both excellent multi-taskers. While I’m typing this I’m also watching the TV and planning the rest of my day; the baby can vomit and wet herself at the same time! Rather than doing one and then the other she has managed to streamline her day- and her parent’s day- and decided to do them both at once. What a champ!

Have any of you met someone before and realised how similar you are, or do any of you share a lot of traits with a baby? Put it in the comments.

Kathy

PS I’m sorry I was away for so long.