And his parents never thought of him as their troubled son

Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to Ticking almost 25 years ago. Plus ça change and all that.

My contribution to Storytellers Unplugged this month is called Using My Common Senses. I’ve made at least one person think, it seems, so I guess it’s a good day.

I watched Smith and Jones, the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who last night. It introduces the new companion, Martha Jones—who happens to be a doctor! Or a resident, at least. It’s a nifty introduction story—love the bit with the necktie—with more aliens than you can shake a stick at and an unexpected kiss. The new companion looks feisty. Hopefully there won’t be too much of her domestic drama, as her family is just plain annoying—as opposed to Rose’s, where there was at least a modicum of charm. Trivia: the actress playing Martha played her character’s cousin in Season 2. The chief surgeon’s name is a little heavy-handed, but I won’t spoil it.

I was tempted to abandon 24 in favor of the second episode, Shakespeare Code, but decided to stick with Jack Bauer. About half the time on 24, characters do exactly what they should do (report someone else for doing something dodgy), and the rest of the time they have no compunction about doing something illicit (sending classified schematics to a rogue agent). Chloe should be in chains. At least she got pulled from the assignment, but really. I’ll probably stick with the show through the end of the season, which must be getting close, but I don’t see myself as a return viewer next season.

This morning’s writing session was taken up mostly with busy work. Didn’t even get to open the Word document for my story in progress. Bummer.