All posts by roger

Cubes on the streets – review of Doctor Who The Power of Three

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If you woke to find the streets littered with shiny black cubes what would you do? Pick one up? Try to open it up like a puzzle box? Take it home with you?

So began the strangest invasion stories in almost 50 years of Doctor Who.

What were these silent, innocent, seemingly harmless cubes that appeared simultaneously all over the world? “I don’t know,” said Matt Smith’s Doctor, “And I don’t like knowing.”

review of Doctor Who The Power of Three

The story took place over the course of a year. People took the cubes into their homes and work places; made book cases out of them, used them for golf practice or used them as fashion accessories. Lord Sugar, in a lovely cameo as himself, even set a cube based Apprentice task.

Then when everyone was convinced they were as harmless as a pebble you might pick up off a beach, they started counting down from 7 to one, with sinister blue illuminated numbers. The slow invasion finally got nasty.

Of course the cubes and their meaning were really just a backdrop to further explore the Doctor’s relationship with Amy and Rory, his long running companions who will leave the show next week. So we saw the humdrum side of their lives. When not saving civilisations, fighting mad Daleks or dinosaurs on space ships, they had to deal with daily domestic terrors like sour milk, dirty clothes and crises at work. These scenes were well acted and set the scene for next week’s emotional departure.

The director managed to make his audience accept the cubes, allowed us to sweep them into the background, concentrate on the characters, so that when they started to countdown, we suddenly remembered them again. The tension was scary.

Pity then that the very rushed conclusion with an under used Steven Berkoff in a Star Wars Emperor style mask proved that the build up did not end up with excitement cubed but rather satisfaction halved.

Over to you: Would you pick up a cube and take it home? I think most people would. Do you agree with my review of Doctor Who The Power of Three? Has it set up the departure of Amy and Rory really well? Share your thoughts. Please leave a comment.

Standing up against those who say that yoga is a religion

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Some people think yoga is a religion (or has religious overtones) and won’t give it a go as a result. I’ve seen churches kick classes out of their halls and community centres when they realise there are yoga classes happening under their roof.

This is a real shame because people could miss out on yoga’s physical benefits if they listen to these ill-informed views.

That said, although yoga is definitely not a religion, it is a way of life for many people. For them it includes elements beyond the exercises and breathing techniques we focus on in yoga classes. These other elements are probably the ones that wrongly create the religious perceptions and concerns.

yoga is a religion
photo credit: leo.prie.to via photo pin cc

There are eight elements to yoga. In most western classes, or modern interpretations of yoga, we take part mainly in the third, fourth and fifth elements.

These are the eight elements of yoga:

Yama

This means restraint. Yoga is about restraint from unhealthy actions such as cheating, stealing, and violence.

Niyama

Niyama means observance, or being content, pure, tolerant, remembering and studious.

Asana

Asanas are the exercises that most people recognise yoga for. The poses have names such as warrior 2, downward facing dog, frog, tree and teachers will often use their Sanskrit names like Utanasana.

Pranayama

Pranayama are breathing techniques such the complete yoga breath.

Pratyahara

This is the moment before meditation begins, effectively preparation for meditation. It means the withdrawal of the mind from the senses.

Dharana

Dharana is concentrating on one object for a length of time.

Dhyana

This is meditation, the other yoga element that most people recognise. It involves the ability to create an image of an object, place or person and becoming immersed in that image. Or it could simply be clearing the mind of all thoughts.

Samadhi

Finally samadhi is realising your own nature, or becoming more self-aware.

I do not believe that any of these elements would be at odds with any religion a person may have. They are life choices in the same way as following a certain type of diet, or committing to an exercise routine agreed with a personal trainer.

It’s a different way of looking at yourself and the world. These elements can improve quality of life, regardless of your race, religion or profession. And of course you can find classes involving only the exercise element and nothing else – or classes that embrace all 8 elements. It’s up to you.

yoga is a religion

For me personally, yoga means stress reduction, better sleeping, better posture, greater flexibility and muscle tone, improved energy levels and other things I have written about in earlier yoga posts. Wouldn’t it be a shame to miss out on this simply for fear that yoga is a religion?

Perhaps those who peddle the myth, or those who close down community classes don’t really understand what yoga is about. If they put their prejudices aside and tried to understand it for what it really is then they might find that their main excuse for avoiding it is not an excuse at all.

Over to you: This is a tricky subject. I know some will disagree with my view. Some might take a deeper spiritual view of some of the elements but I still don’t think that makes those that claim yoga is a religion right. What do you think? Leave a comment. Share your thoughts. Let me know.

Update: Since I wrote this blog the UK press published an example of Catholic church banning a yoga class based upon it’s incorrect view that yoga is a religion. Madness.

yoga is a religion
Click on the photo to go to the article.

 

The Doctor, the bad and the ugly – review of Doctor Who A Town Called Mercy

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Doing a Western on a TV budget is always risky. Sand dunes, ponies, fake American accents and a few Stetsons do not add up to a small screen version of High Plains Drifter.

review of Doctor Who A Town Called Mercy
The Movie Poster for A Town Called Mercy

So hats off (or Stetsons off) to the BBC for flying the Doctor Who production team to Almeria in Spain and the famous Fort Bravo studios for the latest weekly blockbuster story, A Town Called Mercy. Authentic desert landscapes, shimmering heat hazes, and a wooden frontier town convinced me that the Doctor was genuinely in the old west – though admittedly the American accents were still a little, well, fake.

At high noon, Matt Smith faced “The Gun slinger” in the dusty town square. But his opponent was no Lee Van Cleef in a long flowing black coat. This was the Terminator in a long flowing black coat, complete with cyborg arm mounted laser cannon and bionic eye with heads up display.

Despite the potential for camp pantomime A Town Called Mercy is a dark story. A war criminal finds refuge in a western town and becomes a healer. When the half man half machine Gun-slinger arrives seeking revenge we find a morality tale in which even the Doctor seems ready to wield an executioners six-shooter.

The story explores quite adult themes for a family show, but humour offsets the darkness. Show-runner Steven Moffat promised us a movie each week for this series. A Town Called Mercy isn’t quite a cinematic as A Man Called Horse, but it tries very hard and just about pulls it off, whilst at the same time also introducing us to a horse called Susan.

Over to you: Do yo agree with my review of Doctor Who A Town Called Mercy? What did you think of the Doctor’s journey back into Spaghetti Western territory? Did the BBC pull it off or was this just bad and ugly. Share your thoughts. Leave a comment and let me know.

First Impressions of Body Combat Release 53 after Edinburgh Quarterly Workshops

Fitness and Yoga, , , , , ,

Actually the Edinburgh Quarterly Workshop for Body Combat release 53 was fully booked so I missed out on the master-class this time. Fortunately my CD and DVD pack came the same day so my quarterly workshop this time round was in my living room.

First Impressions of Body Combat Release 53 after Edinburgh Quarterly Workshops
Body Combat Release 53 package

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Here are my first impressions:

    • This is a very hard release. The emphasis is on getting a core workout from knee strikes and kicks. Who needs crunches to get a six pack anyway?
    • Expect less rock music and more pounding beats from techno and dance tracks.
    • I love Les Mills dark and foreboding cover of Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams”. It sounds very gothic.
    • “True believer” is an amazing power track. Catchy song, driving beat and get down deep into endless upper cuts.
    • The leg conditioning lunges and esquiva moves in Track 6 are about the toughest I’ve ever seen in Body Combat. But the music is “Swagger Jagger” by Cher Lloyd – an absolute abomination of a song. I’m not surprised that the exercises are so hard because you need the pain to take your mind off the music. Okay I’m a professional and I will sell the song to my participants but really, the melody is from “Oh my darling Clementine” for goodness sake.
    • “Blade” is the Muay Thai track and it is off the scale. Feel the beat get right into your body and you will be gasping for air among a flurry of roundhouse knees and elbow strikes. We’ve had too much rock music at this point the class recently and this driving trance dance is much more suited to a massive Muay Thai workout.
    • More dub-step sounds from Skrillex in the conditioning phase. Press ups with knee to elbow and kick backs are tough. No wonder they call them “Oblique Shredders”

One again the Body Combat programme directors Dan Cohen and Rachael Newsham have given us a challenging testing combat experience. I must remember to breathe during that Muay Thai track otherwise getting the teaching points out will be difficult.

Over to you: Have you tried Body Combat release 53? What do you think of the level of intensity? Do you like the Muay Thai music more than the rock we’ve been used to? Go on! Leave a comment. Share your thoughts.

Click here to watch the taster video for Body Combat release 53.