full stops and exclamation marks

blink and you'll miss a revolution

2011-12-21T15:56:55Z

tumbleweed.gif

...hi?

Hi.

Okay:

+ So work and life and school have been busy enough that it's easier for me to microblog lately, over on Tumblr and Twitter. You can pretty much always find/follow me over there. I keep trying to make posts here but never feel like I have anything interesting to say, and I feel worse as time passes, and and and. I also don't really feel like I have a fandom anymore, and that feels really weird on LJ especially. But as always I miss you when I stay away. :/

+ In the next month or so, things'll probably get even tighter for me because I need to pick up a part-time job in addition to my full-time one. I have no idea what it's going to be, but I need to bring some extra money in because it's hard to focus on anything when I'm feeling so snowed under. Basically I might look into waitressing or something? I used to be pretty good at that. Or retail, I don't know. It's really hard to imagine anyone hiring me for something on the weekends when they could take on any number of high school or college kids instead. I guess I won't know until I try. It's been...a really long time since I've looked for part time work, I don't even know what it would pay. I'd prefer to move into a full-time job that pays better, but it's not in the cards right now because I owe my company a couple more years for paying for grad school.

I'm hoping I'll actually feel better, even if I have less time to myself. Money stress (most types of stress I guess) tends to make me want to watch TV under the covers forever and not do anything, not even read LJ properly, and it gets really depressing and unhealthy and I don't wanna talk about it ok moving on.

+ LJ's not making it any easier to be back around with this new comment page thing. They're a visual nightmare and a functional DISASTER. Between this and delicious and AO3, I can't even. And screw anyone with dialup I guess, because having no option other than to load all your icon images every time you want to leave a comment must be super-fun for them.

...if anyone is on Dreamwidth I am too, so add me if you wanna. They are offering free accounts for the next few days and I probably have a ton of invite codes by now as well.

+ The Hobbit trailer has brought my Tolkien feelings back. Well, that and an impending yearly LOTR extended version marathon coming up next month.

+ Uploaded a ton of music over on my tumblr (more links at the bottom of the post), my faves of 2011 if you wanna check it out. If I can finish knitting these Christmas presents, I will post the links over here in the next couple days, be easier.

+ Still knitting! I'm still having fun with it, and getting better and better even if I don't quite have the dough to enable my yarn addiction. Which is probably a good thing. Right now I'm working on a hat for my dad and a shawl for my mom that I hope I can finish by Christmas. Luckily I'm not going out of town so I'm free to work up to the last minute, like I do~

I also love to TALK about knitting, so.

+ The other thing I've decided I want to get into finally in the new year is makeup. Which I have never worn...ever. Kind of ridiculous seeing as I'm a grown-ass woman, but I just never really learned how? And I want to. So I've been grilling friends for tips and I'm pretty excited. Decided I'm going to try Bare Minerals for foundation and maybe get one of those Naked palletes for my eyes if I can swing it. I'm taking recs if you have favorite eyeliners and lip stuff and whatever else.

+ I'll stop here I think. Happy Hanukkah, and Merry Christmas if I don't post again before then! Come say hi if you wanna; I'm gonna go work on replying to messages and stuff.

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the city is my church

2011-09-16T13:34:44Z

Gonna do a quick friday five meme I spotted on dreamon_dreamer's journal!

lasts.

1. What was the last book you read, and what is your opinion of it?
A Feast for Crows by George R R Martin. It's probably my favorite of the series so far, tied with A Storm of Swords. My issue with the ASOIAF books is that it often takes me a ridiculously long time to get through chapters for characters that don't interest me as much or for whom Martin's prose is especially rambly, because for all that I love the characters, the actual reading experience is...kind of a chore for me. AFFC has the highest percentage of POV chapters that don't bore me, so it's kind of my favorite by default. Also HOUSE MARTELL FOREVER <3

Around the same time, or close enough that I'm not sure which was first, I finished volume 1 of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga. Delightful.

2. What was the last movie you saw, and what is your opinion of it?
Attack the Block. Legit one of my favorite movies of the year! Funny, charming, touching, really great performances, with some sharp social commentary that I wasn't expecting. Nice soundtrack, too. Definitely one of the best genre films I've seen in quite a while. Also I want the kid who played Moses to be in all the things; everyone was adorable though.

3. What was the last TV show you saw, and what is your opinion of it?
The last episode of anything that I watched was episode 4x10 of The Wire, "Misgivings". I've seen it twice already so it's part of my rewatch, but my opinion is the same as my opinion for all of season four, which is CRYING FOREVER.

In terms of current stuff, this week I watched the most recent episodes of Sons of Anarchy (not bad), True Blood (I've officially and permanently broken up with that show), and Lost Girl (delightfulll). Giving the new season of Vampire Diaries a miss for now. When Bonnie turns back up, I'll marathon what I missed. /iregretnothing.gif

4. What was the last album you bought / downloaded, and what is your opinion of it?
Soundtracks for Attack the Block. Definitely recommended if you've seen it. I also downloaded the new St Vincent album around the same time but I haven't listened to it yet. I'm not that well-versed in St Vincent's other stuff, I just love her face and I've heard good things about this album.

5. What was the last meal you cooked, and how did it turn out?
I actually cooked for the first time in a few weeks on Wednesday, but it wasn't anything special. It was just this chicken pasta salad thingy but it was really tasty and colorful and had veggies. Balanced meals, y'all. I'm such a fucking adult.

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TV stuff!

2011-09-08T19:09:37Z

Just to update y'all on what I'm watching right now and 'cos it's been a while since I made a tv post. XD

Lost Girl 2x01

I am so unabashedly, unironically glad this show is back in my life. One thing I'm noticing above all is how much screentime everyone got. What I love about Lost Girl is that the supporting characters all interact and have unique relationships with each other instead of just with the main characters, so you get a more fleshed out ensemble. Just in this one episode we get Bo with Lauren and Kenzi and Dyson, Kenzi with Bo and Dyson and Hale, Dyson with Bo and Lauren and Hale, Trick with everyone. It's lovely.

My favorite duos (after Bo/Kenzi) are Kenzi/Hale, Kenzi/Dyson, and Bo/Lauren. Speaking of Bo/Lauren, how cute was Bo watching her sleep? And Lauren dreaming about isotopes and being too freaking adorable? I'm glad Lauren's personality is emerging more this season and I hope with Bo/Dyson on the backburner, she can emerge as more of a main character and a legit love interest for as long as possible.

I always need more Kenzi. Maybe it's because I pay so much attention to her, but it seems like in this episode they were going really hard with people mocking and/or referencing the fact that she's human, so I hope they go somewhere with that this season and she gets a bit of an arc out of it, because human narratives within supernatural canons are my favorite. (What I really want are Kenzi's grifter adventures 24/7, but I'm not holding my breath.)

All the good stuff aside, weird creepy Asian rat-fae? Really? This show and its bizarre background race issues, I stg.

Doctor Who 6x09

I don't want to talk about Let's Kill Hitler because it was everything I never wanted from this show. But I do want to talk for a second about Moffat's life choices this season.

So Amy's narrative so far has been made of mind-wipes and erased memories of her childhood and things/people she loves being dangled in front of her and taken away via bizarre plot twists, including the child she will never have a chance to raise. fine. (I mean, not fine, but fine.)

but then when we encounter a character who happens to be going through something similar who happens to be a child...she never even interacts with him or gets to be the one to help him in what would be the obvious choice?

Oh. Okay. I guess we're not even trying for emotional continuity or characterization anymore.

Breaking Bad 4x08

So I'm happy for you Jesse and Walt and imma let you finish, but this is basically the Skyler and Gus Show for me. Jesse's storyline with Mike is interesting and I love his face but it's moving super slowly for me, and Walter is disgusting as per. In a really well done way, but still. Go away Walter.

GUSTAVO FRING <333333 Loved this episode. Let us pour out some liquor for the Emmy award Giancarlo Esposito will never receive for his flawless work.

Damages 4x08

I don't even know how to string words together for how much I love this show. I'm sorry that it's been juggled around different networks and that I'm STILL not sure what day and time it actually airs, because it's one of the most flawlessly written shows out there and deserves all the recognition and promotion. Usually the suspense for any given season has to do with whatever case they're working on, but this season the source for most of the suspense and dramatic tension is when, how, or if Patty will make a play for Ellen's Highstar case, and it's been amazing to watch. Because even knowing Patty, we weren't sure if she was being genuine, and neither was Ellen, and somehow, along with Ellen, we grew to trust her motives at least a little over the course of the season.

But now of course, shit gets real. I liked selenak's review of 4x08 so I'm going to just link to that. I couldn't even breathe during the last minute of the ep.

Sons of Anarchy 4x01

I really should've dumped this show after season three, which I thought was really, really weak compared to the first two. There just wasn't enough story there with the hunt for Abel to fill up thirteen episodes so stuff got dragged out. Really annoying, corny, unsubtle stuff got dragged out, like Jax's over-the-top manpain and the horrible way he treated Tara because he was trying to ~push her away~ and protect her. And the fact that, at the end, he never even had to apologize for it. And then there was everything with Stahl that rubbed me the wrong way.

But...I'm weak. Weak for Maggie Siff and Charlie Hunnam and their faces and their adorable chemistry. UGH THEY WERE SO LOVELY THIS WEEK. All the touching and kisses and cuddles and being ridiculously in love. MY BABIES AND THEIR BABIES. Not sure how well Jax is going to be able to stick to everything he said, though. He seemed pretty hardcore at the end of the episode when he helped kill the Russians. Also the shifting dynamics between Jax/Tara and Clay/Gemma should be interesting. I have mixed feelings about it because I love the Tara/Gemma relationship so much, yet when they kissed and hugged this week it made me slightly uneasy, because there's this undercurrent of fear/mistrust and foreboding on Tara's end. Ace acting from Maggie Siff in that scene.

The setup for the new season is both interesting and potentially weird, at least with SAMCRO vs the sheriff. Still working out my thoughts on that.

Also, yay for more Deadwood alums. ;)

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all the toys and the tools in the box

2011-08-29T13:40:43Z

+ Hope everyone on the East Coast is safe and survived the storming! It wasn't bad where I am, we actually had a worse storm a couple weeks ago--or at least one that kept us out of power longer than Irene did. I think we were spared the worst because I was actually prepared this time. And by prepared I mean there were flashlights and booze. But I'm thankful it wasn't too serious here and I hope no one was hit too hard.

+ Watched Doctor Who this weekend and I...I don't understand the question and I won't respond to it. (But if you want to talk about it I will in the comments--I just don't have much good to say, might expand on that and/or link to some reviews I liked later).

+ I have a bluray rip of Thor and everything is fluffy and nothing hurts. There was this blog post by my homeboy Greg Rucka going around this weekend, about how gritty and dark and grey~ doesn't always mean smart or mature storytelling, tying into why recent DC comics movies underperform (with the obvious exception of BB/TDK) whilst Marvel comics movies keep kicking DC's ass.

Which is to say, Thor on bluray is everything good in this world.

+ The longer I go without a Pottermore email, the more I care about it. I wasn't prepared for this. I JUST WANT TO BE SORTED.

+ I was wondering if I could trouble you guys for Big Bang recs or links to reclists. Any Big Bang, I don't even care, but bonus points for ladies. *g* I'm in the mood to read some long fic. First on my list is the ones you guys have written, I've been bookmarking!

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oer

2011-08-23T18:30:53Z

WELL, nothing like a motherfucking earthquake to shake an LJ post out of me!

I hope everyone's okay!

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deathly hallows are deathly

2011-07-16T22:14:29Z

Saw DH pt 2, cried all over myself, have thoughts.

+ So this movie didn't really even touch the first half, right? I'm just going to establish that premise right off for the purposes of this post. I'll make that my baseline as it were. That said I can't WAIT to watch them back to back when they come out on bluray.

Part 2 was 89% action so there wasn't as much room for heart or characterization to the same extent as the last film. Which isn't to say I didn't still have serious feelings about Harry and Snape and the trio and that beautiful brave boy going down to the woods to die. But yeah. I mean was it just me or did barely anyone even SAY anything? There was hardly any dialogue at all. I don't miss the rambling between Harry and Voldemort in the end, but everything else could've used fleshing out. But then again, I still feel like people who didn't read the books must have lost the plot about four movies ago, and justifiably so. So there probably wasn't much to be done.

Anyway.

Kids

+ Hermione remains the brightest bravest queen of my heart. I said in my part one review that I hate how much of the house elf stuff was cut from the films and from DH especially because it's such a key thing for Hermione and her relationships with the boys, and while this film didn't improve on that, I did at least like her reaction to the dragon's captivity and how that tied into her bold-as-fuck decision to free said dragon as their way out. Bad. Ass. I also approved of the additional scenes, like her going after Nagini with Ron, and of course the CoS scene where we actually get to SEE her destroy the horcrux--in the book I disliked that she was the only one who did so off camera. I DIDN'T like that they had Ron urge her to destroy the thing after she was all "I can't". That struck me as weird and sort of a pasted-on shippy moment that wasn't necessary? I doubt she'd have hesitated to destroy it tbh, particularly not given how balls to the wall she'd been the whole time, and Ron didn't need to do that for her to want to kiss him. It was a rare moment of Kloves undermining Hermione when he...actually rarely does that, usually, even as he sometimes undermines other characters.

+ Like Ron tbh. I've never felt that he was undermined in the films until this one. I think he had three lines? Though I appreciated that they showed his basilisk fang strategizing and doing the parseltongue thing on camera (which I found ridic in the book but at least there was that cute 'Harry talks in his sleep' moment). There was a lot of "you're brilliant Ron!" from Hermione which was sweet but kind of stood in the place of giving him real character moments? I also wished there'd been more Ron/Harry which, again, the first movie was really good for. In this one that side of the Trio fell short. I wanted another hug! But whatever, I love Ron, and taken as the second half of a really long film I can forgive it.

+ Harry. My sweet boy. My heart's one true savior narrative, when all others have failed to impress me. <3 I don't have enough words. Dan you perfect thing, ugh. I liked the scenes with Griphook and Ollivander, his cool yet still urgent negotiations. How Ron and Hermione stood apart but he still included them, 'we' need this, 'we'll' do that. His compassion for Draco and Snape and Narcissa, all things I loved in the books. How he gets through to Helena's ghost. It's his kindness and compassion that get me every time, that set him apart from other literary/movie/comic heroes whose pain gives them license to be asshats. And Harry CAN be an asshat but someone's always there to call him on it--that came through in this film too, with Luna. Also, Dan's utter stillness in the scene after The Prince's Tale. The resurrection stone. King's Cross. You wonderful boy. You brave brave man. I can't.

Other stuff I liked

+ Rickman! It was sort of jarring to see Snape all broken, and it wasn't the scene with him cradling Lily that got to me (way to make that even more of a fridging than it was), but the scenes with Dumbledore. "you said you'd keep her safe", etc. All really well played. I think Snape is a pretty loathesome dude overall, because nothing of what he went through justifies his abuse of children, but his narrative still got to me and I still find him really compelling. I think, for me, because Harry feels for him so much, and it doesn't matter whether or not that's misplaced, because it makes sense for Harry to feel that way.

+ The Prince's Tale. Really cool, visually, how it was all cut with Snape's horrible treatment of Harry in previous movies. Young!Lily was the one MWPP casting that looked appropriate out of all the films. I also liked how they made no bones about Dumbledore's ruthlessness about knowing Harry had to die all along. Even though I was sad that so much of his backstory was lost.

+ Aberforth and his bitterness were really well done.

+ Neville was awesome. He got his shining moment and then some. I don't know how to feel about Neville/Luna; never really shipped it and it came off a bit fanservicey. But whatever, it was cute, I'm not mad.

+ Helena Ravenclaw. I actually forgot that Kelly MacDonald was in this movie until someone reminded me yesterday! I LOVE KELLY MACDONALD--and she was really really good as the Grey Lady. Perfect casting because KM has a way of taking a small role and infusing it with such quiet presence and characterization. She really stuck out, much the way she did in No Country For Old Men. Probably one of my favorite scenes.

+ Helena Bonham Carter as Hermione as Bella. Really adorable. XD

+ Ooh Dean Thomas ooh, and also my shirt opened? I know everyone's all about Matthew Lewis right now, but for me the kid who grew up the best was Alfie Enoch. I mean granted, he was always adorable as a kid. But HELLO THERE. Also I appreciated cute Dean/Seamus-ness at the very end. And Pyro!Seamus. And just cute-ass Gryffindors all over the place. Still mad about ALL of Dean's moments being taken out of DH, but I ranted about that for the last movie.

+ Maggie Smith! Ahhhhh McGonagall was amazing. "I've always wanted to use that spell!"

+ Also really enjoyed the Malfoys' stuff, as I did in the book.

+ Ron/Hermione was sweet. I still feel like it was missing some the things that finally sold it for me in the last book, namely, the moments where they finally understood each other, where Ron finally understood Hermione and what she needed. I wanted that moment where it wasn't Ron's bravery or encouragement or whatever, but his GETTING her that made her drop everything and kiss him in the book. So that was missing for me, but it was a sweet moment, I've always enjoyed the more subtle R/Hr in the movies. And I liked that Kloves didn't make Harry watch. Steady trolling. ;)

+ The acromantulas were as low-key as possible.

stuff I didn't like/stuff that was weird

+ The Molly stuff felt kind of tacked on; did the 'not my daughter' part happen a different way in the books? I can't remember. It kind of lost its impact because in the scene, uh, well it didn't really appear that Bella was attacking Ginny at the time? I dunno. Could've done without it. Actually the Weasleys have got short shrift in the films all along. I know that after cutting him out of OotP, Percy's stuff couldn't have made it into DH and made any sense, but it still sucks.

+ I would be mad about the randomness of Tonks and Remus turning up dead, but that's how it went down in the books too, so. LOL. At least the handholding was sweet. Mixed feelings about Fred's death not being shown though.

+ Sending the Slytherins, ALL the slytherins, to the dungeons? Way to make a bad book moment even worse.

+ To my recollection Lavender Brown was NOT KILLED IN THE BOOK. Kind of upset about that one actually.

+ Most of Luna's stuff was cut. Upsetting. I wanted Harry and Luna under the invisibility cloak!

+ Harry/Ginny. I have talked at length about the disservice that Kloves does to Ginny, how he removes her agency from that relationship. I never much liked the ship but I like Ginny and the movie could easily done something fun with it, could've made it shine, if Kloves and Yates had cared to. As it is....yeah. And Dan and Bonnie just don't raise much hell together, chemistry-wise, so.

+ Does anyone remember what happened to Blaise? I was worried that, since they had him in Crabbe's place in the RoR scene, that he would die in Crabbe's stead, and now that I think about it only Harry and Ron had riders on their brooms, so did he make it out?

+ No Angelina and George in the epilogue. No Angelina at all. :( Well, at least they brought Cho in.

+ Speaking of the epilogue, that still felt pastede on. I will say, Dan was aged-up far better than the others. Really, really nice actually. phwoar.

and finally--

FEELINGS ATTACK

Hermione and Harry, y'all. The last movie was their movie, of course, but.

I'll go with you.

i can't

there's nothing

The one person. The one person who has never left his side. Just. When he turns back and explains to them why he's going, and he doesn't even have to explain.

There's a reason I can hear them. The horcruxes.

I think I've known for a while.

I think you do, too.

and then, just. Her face. Because she does know. It's all over her face, and then she steps forward and--

I'll go with you--

To the forest.

To die.

OISHLDKSHKLSJ EVERY TIME I THINK I'M OVER IT. EVERY TIME.

I hate this ship and how it will never let me go.

And that's all I have to say about that.

oooh

2011-07-07T16:17:10Z

The Boy Who Lived Forever

An article on fanfiction that isn't condescending and irritating! In TIME!

Fan fiction is what literature might look like if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band of brilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker. They don’t do it for money. That’s not what it’s about. The writers write it and put it up online just for the satisfaction. They’re fans, but they’re not silent, couchbound consumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to the culture in its own language.

*chinhands*

*goes back to trying to watch a livestream of the DH premiere at work*

*shut up, it's the last one ever*

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eeeeee

2011-06-25T02:10:05Z

Same sex marriage will shortly be legal in the state of New York!

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tomorrow, mankind will know that ponies exist.

2011-06-24T16:30:56Z

I have watched this three times.

No regrets.

I haven't said anything about X-Men: First Class really -- I wasn't intending to see it but the friend I was with didn't want to see Super 8, so. As a longtime X-Men fan it was really exciting (seriously, Charles/Erik's one of my o.g. OTPs and selenak reviews some of the cool things about it). But it was also frustrating, enough for me not to want to recommend this movie, because it should've been the best film in the franchise but is easily the WORST when it comes to how the women and PoCs fared. Not to mention the erasure of Mystique's queerness, much as I enjoyed her arc.

Particularly disappointing for me because the X-Men franchise prides itself on being an allegory for oppressed groups in the real world, and I think that's part of what draws so many fans to it. Which is problematic enough, but to try to do that and then proceed to erase, exploit, and marginalize the actual minorities in the film ... gives me a headache. (here's a fantastic roundup of the things that bugged me most, and as always, rawles' commentary is the greatest.)

I'm also sick of love stories that don't get to be actual love stories--and if Charles and Erik aren't that, then I don't know what is. Beautifully rendered and acted but frustrating.

Also: McAvoy can make me like Charles even at his most arrogant and oblivious points in the film, so that was cool. Fassbender's face creeps me out generally (too. many. teeth.), but not as Magneto, so that was fine.

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knitting!

2011-06-23T15:27:06Z

Done got myself a Ravelry account (thanks to copracat for the link!), mostly so I can lurk the forums for tips and discussions.

Still familiarizing myself, but anyone else have an account? I'm heathershaped.

Kinnnnnda excited.

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mo' potter, mo' problems

2011-06-23T13:32:07Z

*chokes on thick layer of dust*

So ...AWOL again, I'm sorry. Been having some trouble keeping up with my f-list and I don't want to think about cutting it at this time so I've just been...not keeping up, WHICH IS BAD AND I FEEL BAD. I miss you guys.

Also hi! There is nothing particularly exciting going on with me, to the point I don't know what to post, really. let's see:

- Wrapping up a summer course for which I have a paper due next Thursday

- Learning how to knit -- I am pretty comfortable with at least three stitches if you count casting on, but I'm having trouble keeping them uniform and not-too-tight which makes me curse and unravel things in frustration, so if any of you guys knit, I would love some tips or links! I'm kind of excited about it, lol. I want to make things.

- Watching all the things, as per usual, which at the moment consists of Luther, Game of Thrones (through last Sunday at least), So You Think You Can Dance, and yet another rewatch of The Wire. Have also seen X-Men: First Class, Thor, and Bridesmaids.

- On the subject of Doctor Who, I don't understand the question and I won't respond to it.

- Slowly working through a massive summer reading list.

- I slept through the Pottermore announcement but I find I don't really care. I bet in October when it actually opens, I'll care.

- I see a bunch of y'all have joined Tumblr, so allow me to link to mine again. I generally post about pretty ladies, occasional dudes, whatever I'm watching, and a fair amount of media and social justice quotes, links, and dubiously-coherent rambles.

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you weren't perfect but you made life worth it

2011-05-13T14:18:09Z

+ not really feeling the new navigation bar on LJ. It looks all unfinished.

+ I watched The Vampire Diaries' finale, and this might not be the squee you are looking for.

I'm happy about Stefan getting an actual storyline next season but I am so jaded about Damon that I can't help but see it as a contrivance. Especially given that this finale seemed so random/contained very little of what the rest of the season appeared to be about, except for Klaus's general presence. Looks to me like Stefan's now out of the way for Elena and Damon to make a go of things, which given how Stefan is literal perfection, was the only way that could ever plausibly happen. She'd never ever choose Damon otherwise. And I don't know what to say about it because I don't understand why she'd choose him even with Stefan gone but that's probably what's going to happen despite everything he did/will continue to do, because... Because. Because I don't know, this show doesn't seem to be aware of the fact that Damon is the worst the way I thought it was.

How can it be that in the first half of the season I thought they were actually leaning towards character development for Damon in which he learns important lessons about the value of selfless love? Instead we get Damon's deathbed regrets, followed by what I can assume will be another season of him complaining about how haaaarrrrrd it is that the woman he loves would rather he didn't rape/torture/murder people.

He is so gross, I'm sick of his face. :/ And it's weird to me because she's been through so much, much of it at his hands, and he's taken so many of her choices away from her, and she's aware of all of it, and she seems in all other situations to be focused on keeping the people she loves safe/being fiercely loyal to them, so it's jarring that on the other hand she feels all this affection for Damon, and forgives him for everything ever. Which I guess is why it all exists in this bubble apart from the other characters because they wouldn't understand it either. I assume Bonnie helps sometimes because she loves Elena.

So yeah. I dunno. I wish I didn't care so much about every other character/storyline.

+ I don't understand Klaus' obsession with Stefan and can only assume he wants to bone him. Just ask, buddy. Just ask.
+ The show keeps killing off good people/people I was just starting to like, and preserving the worst people. At some point they'll run out of people I like but then I'm sure they'll bring in new people for me to like and then kill them. This is my own fault.
+ I love Katherine, smartest character on the show. And Elijah. Poor, naive Elijah.
+ So Jeremy dies and then is...idk SHADOW-KISSED?!!? I was so happy to see Anna's face again I didn't bother to unpack any of it, but interesting setup for next season I guess. Even if it's bound to put Bonnie through more hell.
+ I hope next season Caroline gets to be a part of things instead of in her own little triangular bubble. I'm pulling for Matt/Caroline just because I like Matt and dislike Tyler. *kanyeshrug*

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i sit tight, don't wanna miss the show

2011-05-11T15:22:59Z

+ So Google's homepage is awesome today:

Martha Graham! And earlier this week it was Mr. Men. Four for you, Google.

+ Last night I read Thor: The Mighty Avenger and it is the best superhero comic in existence. I feel like I can say that because I have read every superhero comic in existence. But no, really, pick it up, it's sweet and adorable and Thor and Jane are my FAVORITES.

I've also acquired Morning Glories, which I found out about on tumblr and haven't read yet, but I'm wondering if it will fill the Runaways-shaped hole in my life.

+ But I really want to talk about The Good Wife.

First off, I call shenanigans if Archie and Julianna don't win all the awards for their work this season. Not just some of the awards either--ALL THE AWARDS.

Second off, I thought this week's was the finale, and I'm glad to see it wasn't, but LOL @ at the promo selling Alicia/Will as if THAT is the thing we have all been waiting for this season. I'll be glad to get it overwith, even if my main interest is Alicia and Kalinda.

I love how much the show ships it, too.

So anyway, I watched this episode with my nails digging into my cheeks. That first confrontation was so intense I had to actually pause and emotionally prepare myself, I kid you not. It just makes sense that Alicia feels the most fresh hurt and is least able to control herself when it comes to Kalinda, who selenak points out accurately is who she has present feelings for/about, rather than Peter whom she's no longer in love with. Seeing Alicia barely able to hold in her anger and her need to lash out was so in-character and difficult to watch. Alicia tries to be in control of herself and her impulses and be fair at all times, to think of how other people feel. But she just can't right now, and I love that over the past two episodes the writers have allowed her to get really ANGRY and a little unfair and not all calm and composed. It's something I wish the Fringe writers would give to Olivia Dunham after all she's been through. Something that really examines how she feels about everything not just the Peter mess, but I digress.

The later scene where Alicia actually does lash out made sense for the same reason. Even though it hurt to watch it. Speaking of things that hurt to watch, I have discovered that when Kalinda cries, I cry. Just. ALL THE AWARDS. I mean, when she fumbled with her notes and half-staggered to the elevator, are you KIDDING ME? She loves Alicia so much you guys, SO MUCH. And it made sense that she'd want to leave L&G, because she doesn't think she can deal, and because it's been easy enough for her to cut ties in the past. I also loved her explanation to Alicia. I do that. It means nothing to me but...I do that.

And she tried to actually describe her feelings about Alicia TO Alicia, which is MAJOR. A big step from giving out her home address a few episodes ago. So it makes sense that when Alicia rejects her, it's a hell of a blow, no matter how justified Alicia's anger is. So she puts her armor back up, she's done, this whole friendship thing is not worth the hurt. The contrast between the off-kilter, shaken, visibly vulnerable Kalinda throughout the episode and the shut-down Kalinda at the end was pretty striking. It hits all my emotionally-unavailable-female-character arc kinks.

her stupid vulnerable face ♥

Other notes:

- I continue to love Will-Kalinda scenes, not really in a shippy way, in a these-characters-play-off-each-other-SO-well way. I don't particularly like Will, but I find him way more compelling in scenes with Diane and Kalinda. I love the sense of history and understanding between them. Love that he calls her "K". Love that they see through each other and how that played out in both of their scenes, but that Will's clearly more emotionally available than she is, which is probably a new thing. He opens up about Alicia in the first scene, she shuts down about Alicia in the next.
- LOL, Cary is such an IRL troll. And I love him but I'd rather thought he and Alicia were getting along better since mutually helping Kalinda, so it's a bit disappointing that they're playing up this rivalry to keep him at the states' attorney's office. However I do enjoy when the writers have him and Kalinda contact each other at random just to talk, to give pretext for them to find out other things, but also adding more scenes to their friendship.
- Kalinda cracking up when Sofia tells her about the contract with Peter's office was an awesome touch.
- I want that grey leather hoodie she was wearing.
- I can't work out whether I love Nancy or Patty more.
- I enjoyed Sofia and all the other ladies that Kalinda interacts with professionally and has mad chemistry with. (Poor Zoe from last week by the way! You know Kalinda probably never called her. *g*)

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excuse my charisma

2011-05-10T13:39:03Z

THINGIES IN MY EYEBALLS:

+ Saw Thor this weekend and I'm in love. I mean, there's stuff I could say about the storytelling and whatnot, but mostly I LOVE THOR. THOR IS A FLUFFY BUNNY. I have such a kink for cuddly superheros with storyarcs that are about being wise and kind and sweet, and also punching stuff. And who kiss Jane's fingers and make her giggly. Such superheros are rare and refreshing, as most superheros are emos and/or douches and/or emodouches. I want all the fic. Thor/Jane and Thor/Sif and Thor/Loki and Sif/Darcy (I DON'T KNOW, I JUST LOVED THEM BOTH). Anyway I've procured Thor: The Mighty Avenger to read because I am told it's all about fluffy!Thor.

Anyway yeah, fic. *grabbyhands*

+ Have been sucked back into Glee. Sort of. I still fast-forward a lot, but I'm so ridiculously invested in Brittany/Santana. I just want them to be okay. ;___;

+ I'm watching Doctor Who but I'm not quite as invested as I was last season. The things I am invested in are too confusing for me to puzzle out right now, but I enjoy the theories and I've been staying away from spoilers so that whatever twists are coming are totally new to me. My overwhelming feeling: everything is River and nothing hurts. Except for when things are pirates and I'm bored. Amy can keep the hat, though. *swoon*

+ The other stuff I'm watching is primarily Game of Thrones, Treme, The Vampire Diaries, and The Good Wife. I think this post would get too long if I talked about them all in detail, but suffice it to say:

--- Game of Thrones: STAAAAARKS. And also Jon/Sam giving Jon a much-needed personality injection. And also caring about Jamie and Cersei for the first time ever. And oh, the ranting that I want to do about Dany/Drogo and the Dothraki storyline.
--- The Vampire Diaries: My abusive relationship with this show continues. Still loving Elena and Stefan and Bonnie, still shipping Damon/Stake. and very sad that they have decided to make the finale completely free of narrative tension. (Unless there's anyone who believes the writers will ever let Damon go, I should say.)
--- The Good Wife: KALINDA. ALICIA. CRYING FOREVER.
--- Treme: Best show. LADONNA. ;__;

+ I also want to talk about Fringe, but idk if I have time to get into it. Could go for an Olivia-centric rewrite of the back half of this season though.

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heather @ 2011-05-02T10:10:00

2011-05-02T14:23:26Z

WELL. BEEN A WHILE. Hi guys. I have other stuff I want to post about, but srs bsns first:

+ So OBL's dead, and it's super-surreal. I remember exactly where I was on 9/11, and it's hard to believe that it's been ten years with this spectre hanging over us. I'm glad he's dead for the symbolic value, for the fact that the world's legit a better place without him, for the shot in the arm this gives to our troops, and for the closure it's brought those who need it. All that's real and important and I'm grateful no Americans were harmed while taking him out even as I'm sorry that Pakistani civilians weren't so lucky.

That said, the surge of nationalism (mostly the accompanying anti-Islamic sentiment) scares me. The gross jokes on Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr last night. The assumptions that the Islamic community isn't as happy about this as we are. The belated (extremely belated) undercurrents of fear of retaliation that we should've thought about, oh, nine years ago or at any point since. Now is NOT the time to start sowing fear about that. I also can't with the throngs of people celebrating outside the white house either. I get it, but it seems like very much the wrong tone to take with the world watching, and celebrating death makes me feel skeevy, particularly considering the tens of thousands of deaths over the last decade that reportedly sprung from the search for this one dude. Hard to call that victory. It's just sobering, and at the end of the day nothing's changed in the region; what we change with regards to our Afghanistan policy remains to be seen.

On a lighter note but not that much lighter, Donald Trump can go shave his back now. Guess now we know why it took Obama so long to get around to releasing that long-form birth certificate, hm?

+ Good luck to everyone in Canada today with your elections.

+ thoughts on TV and a music post later/tomorrow.

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Bang.

2011-03-14T19:25:36Z

So, Being Human 3x08, "The Wolf-shaped Bullet", has basically induced a feelings attack and caused my opinion on this ENTIRE season to do a total 180. I haven't even been bothered to review the episodes since the premiere because I've been behind but I'm so glad I caught up this weekend so I could watch yesterday; I would've hated to be spoiled for this.

That said, if my coworkers ask me why I'm so despondent this week, what do I say? "Oh don't mind, me, just a bit overly invested in a fictional narrative, lalala."

Uh, that was nearly perfect, and for me it casts the whole season into a nearly-perfect light. Not even quite sure where to start. Um.

Mitchell.

This character has put me on a rollercoaster, ya'll. Over the course of three seasons he's slowly gone from being my number one vampire boyfriend to public enemy number one. I have literally been shipping Mitchell/Stake since episode two of this season. WHY THEN AM I INCONSOLABLE ABOUT HIS DEATH. I--I may never be the same! What are you that you could do this to me, John Mitchell?

I think it's a mixture of two things -- it's because his arc ended precisely the way it needed to, and because there's a level of complexity to his monstrosity. Because yeah, to me Mitchell has been literally monstrous this season in a way that's been almost too hard to watch, and has been getting steadily worse since LAST season. He is manipulative, profoundly dishonest (to himself, to others) cowardly, self-obsessed, masochistic in a way that is destructive to those around him, MONSTROUS is really a good word. He lies to Annie, to George, uses them, stops at nothing to survive at the expense of them and others. Oh, and not to mention he's an actual MASS MURDERER. But there's something beautiful in how the show never lets him get away with it. No other show holds vampires so accountable as Being Human held Mitchell accountable. Is there another vampire narrative in existence that treats human lives as important in the way Being Human does? Is there? (Because no, Vampire Diaries does not. It comes close with characters who aren't Damon, but unfortunately Damon kills the most people, so.) Whithouse never shies away from showing Mitchell for what he is, the ugliest parts of him and it's not tortured and romantic, it's disgusting. I could barely even look at him this season.

So in that way it really made sense and rang true for me, because it was so unflinching. This is a guy who clings to savior figures, takes all the responsibility for his actions off of himself. He did it with Josie, he did it with Lucy, he did it with Annie, which I'll never forgive him for when he KNEW she'd been through abusive relationships before. As sweet as he was in series one, he'd committed atrocities before that -- he goes through periodic cycles of abuse and destruction, and he was going to keep doing it for as long as he lived. Annie stopped that cycle, she and eventually George (more on Annie's amazingness later). Finally he met people who loved him enough not to accept his bullshit once they saw him clearly.

It's sort of presented as an actual sickness, his vampirism, like an addiction. The symptoms were textbook, even. And it really came through, especially in the end, how much he really does love George and Annie under all that sickness, even as he used them and manipulated them and hid behind them. And it really came through how much they both love him, even as they started to realise and accept what he was, what he'd always be. That's exactly what was so heartbreaking about his ending, because it NEEDED to happen, and everyone knew it, but they still loved him. I was nearly sobbing.

I'm proud of Toby Whithouse for seeing this narrative through in the most satisfying way, and not backing out or leaving things open for Mitchell to return. It's better this way, much as it hurts. Even if it took Aidan NEEDING to leave the show for this narrative to exist, I'm happy that it was handled the way it was, and that it exists now, because it was tightly-written and intense and nearly perfect. I feel like the balance of nature has been restored after Damon Salvatore, lmao.

Now. Annie. Annie. Make no mistake, Annie is fucking fantastic. Not too many characters resonate with me the way she does, she is like the perfect storm of subtle writing and characterization and Lenora's acting and I LOVE HER SO MUCH. I was so worried about her this season, because it was shaping up to be all about Mitchell's self-obsession and more of Annie's subplots getting picked up and dropped, and less of her being proactive/having agency. I really didn't want to watch her falling in love with a Mitchell who clearly was just using her for his redemption, not when she is especially vulnerable to men doing this sort of thing to her, manipulating her, and she has a history of being blind to it. It was another thing about the season that's been almost impossible for me to watch because here's Annie, trapped between existences, unable to be seen or heard or touched, desperately clinging to the few things and people who ground her to this world. Of course she falls for Mitchell, of course she does. It broke my heart.

But that was so, SO not all there was to her story this season. She's a hero, y'all. It's a little harder to see with characters like Annie, who aren't loud or snarky or traditionally "fierce". But the way the show makes use of the strengths she does have is masterful and subtle. Annie is painfully earnest, hopeful, optimistic, and so bursting with love it's almost uncomfortable to watch. She's also deeply flawed; her insistence on seeing the good in people ends up getting herself and others hurt, and stops her from seeing situations as they really are. But at her core, she's deeply empathetic. She cares about people, relates to them, and it's that empathy that, at multiple points during the season, saves people, gives her strength, and allows her to see situations the other characters can't. Able to empathize with Lia, with Sasha, with Cara, with Wendy, with Nancy, and in each case she ends up helping or learning from each of them because of it. (I will expand on this at some point, but this post is too rambly already haha).

And most importantly she empathizes with every human victim she comes across. It's intrinsic to who she is, so when she finds out about what Mitchell did on that train, she can't accept it or forgive it, to hell with that tired "love conquers all" crap because those people had families and lives. ("Do you even know who you're in love with" KILLED ME because she looked at him and realized he couldn't possibly know her if he'd expect her to accept what he did, and it hurt so much) And yet she STILL is unable to watch Mitchell suffer alone or give up on him completely, so she promises to stay with him in prison? ANNIE WHY SO GREAT. Their first scene in the finale gutted me, because there's Mitchell, manipulative to the end with his "that man isn't me anymore" bullshit, and there's Annie, not letting him get away with it for a second, not letting him play the victim at all. That moment when Herrick shows up and Mitchell goes with him without a second thought was heartbreaking, because I think it wasn't until then that the stalwartly-hopeful Annie REALLY understood that Mitchell's beyond saving. And he really, really is.

Lastly re: Annie, her shining moment in this episode was obviously Lia, and how she knew exactly how to get through to her. And then, AND THEN, her pointing out to George that letting Mitchell go would be a choice every bit as much as killing him, and then George looks at her before staking Mitchell and she just nods -- I'm so proud of Annie I don't even know what to do with myself. PERFECT CHARACTER.

Now, to Georgeface. <3 George and Mitchell/George basically killed me. I can't take it when Russell Tovey cries! I can't. He cries, I cry. Clockwork. Again with how this show constantly and relentlessly stresses how important human life is, how horrible what Mitchell did was, and how it corrupts everything and everyone. George has known more about Mitchell than anyone, even at the end of series 2 he knew, but deliberately he turned a blind eye out of love. (He was also an enabler for Mitchell, and jeeze, the addiction parallels I can't even.) The moment in the cage when George sees Mitchell, REALLY sees him for the first time was clearly the turning point for everything. Right when George sees Mitchell for the monster he is and what he's been a party to, THAT'S when Mitchell realizes he has to put a stop to it. Just gorgeous symmetry there. I think it's that friendship that I'm going to mourn most of all. It was all so pitch-perfect, George not being ready, Mitchell realizing how much he's corrupted George, the two of them having that beautiful scene where Mitchell tries to make him believe everything they had was fake, and then he breaks down into emotional honesty. I CAN'T. I want to cry again just thinking about it!

George: What happened to you?
Mitchell: It won.

TEARS.

I love this show for making me feel both gutted and profoundly relieved when Mitchell died. Just amazing, amazing.

And Nina! NINA. She's been utterly flawless throughout this season. We needed her perspective as someone who has no reason to be as attached to Mitchell as Annie and George are. The way she calls him out on his emo bullshit in this episode, I get shivery just thinking about it. But it's much more complex than that. She lashes out at Mitchell when he tries to make George be the one to kill him because she views everything through the lens of what it means for George, for her and George, this woman who's been through so much with and for George, and who George relies on so much just to hold him together. There's always been this weariness in Nina when it comes to that, like a weight of responsibility. Because she knows how much George needs her and it takes a lot out of her, but she loves him so much anyway, and it's just masterfully done. We never lose her perspective in all of this.

Okay, quickly:

+ Whithouse lost points for manipulating my emotions when it came to that DCI chick. Who was flawless and amazing and deserved her life.
+ I think Herrick not realising Mitchell would kill him was a little too pat, plus it was a little TOO easy for Mitchell to kill him, but I am glad of two things: the emphasis on the fact that he's "proper dead" (and so in turn is Mitchell now) as well as the way it wrapped up quickly enough to allow for maximum final moments for the OT4.
+ Lia ♥ So glad to see her back, and I'm glad she wasn't vilified for what she did. Lia/Gilbert OTP. Also when she goes in for the hug, and Annie's reaction to it, just. FLAWLESS.
+ CONTINUITY. Not just with Gilbert haha, but with stuff like "anything that happened would've happened a lot sooner and a lot worse if it weren't for you two".
+ Nina's alive! OBVIOUSLY, I just thought I'd mention it. ETA: Does anyone else think it looked kinda like Annie bent down to either kiss Nina or whisper something and then she just woke up? What was thaaaat. I mean it was explained with the werewolf thing, but.
+ Tom and McNair! I kinda love Tom, even though he was kind of just there as a red herring in the episode and I'd love to know what happened to him.
+ The fakeout with Mitchell's death was cruel. At that point I was like "DO IT DO IT OH GOD DO IT LAHFLKDHF" and then new baddie rolls up and interrupts things. Of course, once he promised Mitchell that he'd make him his henchman or whatever, I was about 90% sure George would go ahead and stake him anyway.
+ "I think you've got a fight on your hands." OH KIDS. That final shot. I can't wait for season 4.
+ I do miss Mitchell, but it's the old Mitchell I mourn most, the potential of him back before he started this cycle again. Not even sure how I'm going to watch season one ever again without sobbing actually. However, this Mitchell? He had to GO, and kudos to Whitehouse for going there.

Sorry this is rambly, haha, but I am BEYOND pleased.

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that time i watched Glee for the first time in forever

2011-03-09T16:39:59Z

wellll, by "watched" I mean "fast-forwarded through everything but Brittany/Santana and Burt", oh I do love that tumblr pre-screens shows and gifs the relevant bits for me so quickly.

First off, a gripe over what I did watch, and someone help me out here.

So, Santana wants to confess her feelings for Brittany in a way she hasn't been able to in EVER, and she wants to do it ~in song~. She's also one of the best singers on the show, legitimately one of the best. How then do the lead vocals for that song, that song which encapsulates Santana's fears and feelings so beautifully... go to Gwyneth Paltrow?

HELP ME Y'ALL.

Not that I didn't appreciate the extra time it gave for Naya and Heather to just sit there like this at each other for like 3 minutes:

girls

...but Gwyneth and her less-good vocals and the looks between her and Will were unnecessary in that moment, for that song, during that performance, and arguably ever.

Moving on, moving on.

Naya Rivera needs to be on a better show. She was SO SO SO GOOD. She made me want to cry. It's not often Glee portrays a relationship with real emotional conflict and character continuity; usually we get "oh i'll go and date him/her for such-and-such ulterior motive lalala oh wait i cheated" boringness. So yeah, it was just a little refreshing to watch something on Glee that felt so real.

Honestly the "want to go watch Sweet Valley High and get our snuggle on" ALONE would've had me on cloud nine, but then they had to go and get legitimately serious and break my heart. Guys I love Santana so much, she speaks to me on a higher level. Even Brittany's confusion about their relationship felt real and not like a joke the way 80% of her lines usually are.

Anyway, a rundown of things I loved:

-the show acknowledging that lesbians and bisexuals exist. Which, I hear, is more than they did for Blaine's arc.
-Santana basically coming out as bisexual
-the whole theme of her being panicky and running from her feelings for Brittany that I have been fanwanking since like the very first episode turning out not to actually be fanwank
-one of the few non-annoying Holly scenes, with the girls, in which she gives them good advice
-THIS BIT:
"What I’ve realized is why I’m such a bitch all the time. I’m a bitch because I’m angry. I’m angry because I have all these feelings…Feelings for you, that I’m afraid of dealing with, because I’m afraid of dealing with the consequences […] I want to be with you. But I’m afraid of the talks and the looks. I mean, you know what happened to Kurt at this school […] I’m so afraid of what everyone will say behind my back. But still, I have to accept…that I love you. I love you, and I don’t want to be with Sam, or Finn, or any of those other guys. I just want you. Please say you love me back. Please."

And it was Naya's delivery of it that really got me, because it was so palpable how scary this all is for her.
-unrelated to cheerios in love, Burt! Lovely as always, even if I don't love Kurt like I used to. It's so important seeing a gay teenager getting the sex talk, etc.

I don't really understand the Sam and Artie thing because a) I hate Artie, b) I BARELY know who Sam is and the last time I saw him he was with Quinn or something, and c) I haven't been watching the other episodes for the most part. That said I understand that Brittany loves Artie too and doesn't want to hurt him. And while the dialogue was weird in parts, and it's not like they aren't already cheating on both Sam and Artie, it doesn't matter because omg Cheerios in love. <333 In actual love that isn't just about male gaze or ratings but because their relationship had been naturally leading to that point.

CHEERIOS <3

that's all.

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fweeee

2011-03-01T17:23:58Z

FANDOM MARCH MADNESS. TWO WEEKS OF INSANITY. SILLINESS. OF PEOPLE BEING WRONG ON THE INTERNET.

I plan to stan/campaign for Gwen, Astrid (is Fringe getting a bracket idek), and Bonnie at first, mostly because I do not suspect any of them will make it past the prelims, so this'll be my only shot. Also you can generally expect to see me stanning the ladies and marginalized chars throughout 'cos that's how I roll.

Also, hellooo everybody. <3 Happy March! I'm gonna try to be around more!

+ TV:

- Excited about Game of Thrones. I'm 2/3 of the way through the first book now.
- Starz' Camelot: Tried it! loooooool... no. I'm sorry! I am sorry. But haha, no. ~*~say my name~*~~~~
- Being Human: currently three episodes behind. Not really in a rush to catch up.
- Vampire Diaries: Is on notice.
- Merlin: Filming in two weeks! I miss the kids, I really do. ♥

+ The Oscars were super-predictable. But David Fincher didn't win! *\o/* And James Franco is probably still high.

+ For the most part I missed the anon meme debate in Merlin fandom. Probably a good thing I missed it, from what I've been reading, but for the record you can count me in the "the meme is overwhelmingly and inexcusably gross, forever and ever amen" camp. I feel like once it becomes necessary to disclaim that "all you have to do is skim past the racism/sexism/personal attacks/appearance wank/bullying and it's an AWESOME PLACE", then it might be gross! I'm just saying, I'm just saying.

+ I did my taxes last week, and all looks good. I might have some extra cash to splurge on something. Think it might be an iPad. Tomorrow is the iPad 2 presentation so we'll see how many major changes there are. I always freak out about big purchases, particularly when they're things I don't... well, actually need. (~~Like an irl PADD for example~~.)

+ This post has no point whatsoever. But I got a lot of sleep last night, I actually have energy. Love you guys, back to work. ♥

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i dare you to do better

2011-02-02T20:37:14Z

Genderswapped Star Trek! I want the rest of this movie in my eyeballs.

(The embed's not showing up for me on DW (though it does show up on LJ) so here's a link if y'all can't see it.)

There's no reason why we shouldn't or couldn't have more of this for real.

(Also hi, hi, hi everyone <3)

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I need new Being Human icons.

2011-01-24T17:23:55Z

SO, that episode was definitely an improvement over ... well, most of last season! We'll see, we'll see.

My final verdict on S2, which those of you who've been here a while may have been able to tell from my abrupt dropoff in posting episode reviews, was that I didn't really like it much. I thought compared to S1 it was all over the place, with too much vamp politics, not enough OT3/4, Annie being sidelined/her storylines getting dropped, Mitchell no longer being sweet to her or anyone, George being gross and making Nina's angst all about him, Mitchell getting a horrible, horrible subplot about how Lucy's ~love could save him from whatever the fuck, and just generally a lot of manpain culminating in Mitchell having a bad day and murdering a train full of people with no repercussions whatsoevs. I actually forgave George in the latter part of the season, but Mitchell and I were all but done professionally. We would've been completely done if not for the bit when he felt Annie get torn from the world and vowed to get her back because look, I'm not made of stone.

+ The S3 premiere was a step in the right direction because it eased my fears that what Mitchell did at the end of S2 would never be addressed. It's a tricky balance though, because while it NEEDED to be addressed, I'd hoped purgatory would be more about Annie, that we'd see more of her and have it look a little less like she was just being held hostage 'till Mitchell owned up to his sins in an overly drawn-out episode of This Is Your Life, John Mitchell.

Also, not everything he did was addressed and I will never forgive him for terrorizing Annie in That One Scene; no matter how hot Aidan Turner is, Annie was legit freaked out and it wasn't hot in the slightest and he hasn't apologized and probably never will. Does he even remember that? Will Annie? These are the things that plague me. Because I love Annie/Mitchell, I do, but that's always been dependent on how sweet Mitchell is to Annie and I feel like last season is a lot to make up for so even though I enjoy their hugs and shippytimes and obvious love for each other, I'm still going to be side-eyeing Mitchell for a little while. BUT HEY, if I could forgive George for last season, I'm sure my Mitchell love will come back to the level it used to be at some point.

+ All that said! I really really enjoyed and was relieved at Mitchell being held accountable for his actions by one of his victims. I loved that he was never let off the hook, and I loved Lia (and the actress playing her) so much. The way she kept neatly knocking down his excuses! Perfect scene. I'm really, really sad that we'll probably never see her again.

+ Really, really heavy addiction metaphor with all of Mitchell's excuses and cop-outs and his insistence on being saved/redeemed by everyone's love. You have to wonder if he'll ever really recover and if not, what that means for his character. If they carry out the addiction metaphors could this possibly lead to his... you know, apologizing to the people he's hurt? I'm guessing no, since he promptly switched off that television when Lia's picture popped up at the end. SIGH.

+ George and Mitchell's good-bye in the hospital. OH BOYS. <3

+ I'm not so invested in the werewolf whatever subplot yet, except I can see where it might give George/Nina lots to do, and I can see where Mitchell will tie into it because it probably has something to do with that prophecy, but I can't see where it leaves Annie. I hope she gets some good stuff this season.

+ Michael Socha! If I didn't already know he was Lauren Socha's brother, I would've said "whoa, that dude looks a lot like Lauren Socha." UNCANNY.

+ George/Nina are gorgeous and I loved every moment they were on screen. So happy the OT3 has become an OT4! Nina fits in really well and her friendship with each of the three of them is so special.

+ NinaNinaNina, making George and Mitchell respect the dead guy, saving George like a boss, flipping off Mitchell, being amazing. Also, Sinead Keenan is basically brilliant. That scene where she breaks George out of jail while in the midst of her own transformation was so perfect and darkly hilarious.

+ ANNIE'S BACK. So glad they didn't draw that out. So looking forward to more of her. So crazy about her - she got so little to do this week, but just that one moment where she turned back to ask Lia what had happened to her, when she'd just been freed and could've torn out of there without a thought, was just ...everything I love about Annie in one shot. Fervently hoping she gets to have her own agenda this season.

+ Basically if Being Human were all about how George, Annie, Nina, and Mitchell sit round the house playing Parcheesi all day, it would be a perfect show. THAT CAST AND THEIR ADORABLENESS, I CAN'T EVEN. Maybe it's because I was spoiled for Annie's actual rescue, or maybe it's because I'm still not over Mitchell last season, but I didn't really burst into tears until after Annie was home and she faked George out (and Russel Tovey sobbed) and then he scooped her off her feet and then Nina hugged Mitchell and then Annie and Nina flapped their hands and flew at each other. It was basically a perfect scene.

+ I love their new house! I loved Annie's "...oh" reaction to the wall mural. I loved her reaction to the move ("I want to go back!" "To Bristol?" "No, to purgatory!"). I loved surprise!Rhys in the woods (and I miss Torchwood!).

So yeah! The premiere definitely renewed my excitement about the show.

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you know what's always sexy? fingerless gloves.

2011-01-21T15:55:46Z

MAN, YOU GUYS. I feel like I miss y'all all the time because I go through these periods without posting/commenting. The thing is, I'm in a phase where I have not been feeling like engaging with fandom lately beyond talking about stuff that barely anyone else is watching. :P I've also been spending a lot of time on tumblr. But still! I'm trying to get better at commenting and answering comments and stuffs. Basically I don't want to only show up around here when I get mad about something, hee. So anyway, some things:

+ Parks and Recreation is back and everything is beautiful and nothing hurts. I love everyone in that bar.
+ I watched Sanctuary over the holidays -- it's actually pretty good! The first season was hard for me to get into, but it found its stride in season 2.
+ Side-eyeing Chris Nolan for his choices re: The Dark Knight Rises. Love Tom Hardy, but he should not be playing Bane. Bane is not white. Love Anne Hathaway, but I wouldn't have thought of her for Selina Kyle, although that one's more of a wait-and-see for me.
+ Being Human is back on Sunday. BEING HUMAN IS BACK ON SUNDAY. I haven't watched the US version because I'm just not sure I can take the secondhand embarrassment at this stage, however, I DID watch the US Skins premiere. It's kind of terrible but I'll be honest, I'm probably going to keep watching because I'm interested in what they'll do with Tea.
+ I just finished reading the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. I couldn't help comparing it to The Hunger Games just because even though it doesn't have the same derivative Battle Royale ripoff premise, it does have some parallels about war and resistance and politics and stuff, and is also a YA post-apoc (sort of) trilogy of some notoriety. Except for me, Chaos Walking is SO MUCH BETTER. Mostly because Ness is a better storyteller than Collins IMO, and the characterizations were stronger, the plot felt much more cohesive. It's intense and heartbreaking and SOUL-DESTROYING but it's a good, quick read and I'd recommend it if you like YA stuff. Also: OTP of OTPs, feelings explosion, etc. Without getting all spoilery.
+ I just started reading Game of Thrones, because I'm more and more excited about HBO's adaptation of it that's coming in April. The trailers just look so amazing (Lena! Bean!), even though pseudo-European fantasy worlds are starting to bug me on principle. Anyway, I'm not far into the book yet, but it's good so far.

Brief assorted linkspam!
+ glass_icarus' Potluck blogging festival, for multicultural and intersectional discussions and writings about food.
+ According to my f-list I should read Pairing: Pendragon/Merlin. Everyone from every fandom is reccing this fic, haha. OKAY OKAY I WILL
+ Camelot Fleet Finishathon. Looks so amazing this year.
+ Really, really interesting and important discussion on "piracy" (specifically e-books for the most part), and the inherent privilege that goes along with defending Western Imperialist notions of intellectual property.

Finally, a meme, which you should all do, because I often feel like talking but don't know what to talk about! So, ask me anything you want to know!

Ask me a fandom-related question in the comments. This can be fandom specific, general, or about fandom/lj stuff/fic writing/etc. in general. Questions can be as wacky as you want. Ask me about tv shows, characters, fanfic in general, fandom issues/meta. Whatever you want.

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loving the bad things

2011-01-13T16:02:49Z

Right so, David Fincher. And how much of an asshole he is:

“I love Max Minghella. He came to us, uh, he obviously came to read for another part, and we had read enormous— probably a hundred— Indian actors who came in to read for Divya, and I saw footage of the actual Divya Narendra, who I’ve met now and he’s kind of like Warren Beatty. There’s nothing, aside from being incredibly tan, there’s almost nothing that seems particularly ethnic about him…. and we couldn’t find somebody who had that sort of smoothness. I looked, I looked, I looked. We went to London, we went to, I think, Paris, we went to Montreal. We cast from everywhere. And finally in the end I just felt that Max had the most, kind of… [trails off]. I just wanted to make sure that Divya was an equal. He was the most important third wheel in this triumvirate.”

That's from the DVD commentary for The Social Network. Fincher's talking about the fact he didn't cast an Indian actor for the RL person called Divya Narendra who is the American-born son of two doctors from India.

Do I even need to--

Divya Narendra is kind of like Warren Beatty who is white which means ...what, it's totally kewl not to bother casting an Indian actor because he doesn't seem to fit Mr. Fincher's idea of Indian dudes despite the fact that he is in fact Indian? And aside from minor details like his dark skin and visibly Indian features he doesn't seem "ethnic" to Mr. Fincher? And he couldn't find someone who had that "smoothness" that ...what, only white actors can bring to a role? And he wanted to make sure Divya was an "equal" because... what, he couldn't be unless he was white? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING, MR. FINCHER. Especially considering you needed a crazy slutty Asian girlfriend and had no trouble finding Brenda Song for that.

Honestly this is just one line in a litany of things I hold against The Social Network and everything it chooses to be and no, TUMBLR, I didn't know about this until the commentary came out and that's why I didn't say anything before now SORRY I HADN'T REALISED THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS HAD RUN OUT. Fandom's (and it's not even any one fandom) defensiveness over this type of shit is tiring, tiring. I don't actually care how wonderful Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg and Trent Reznor and whoever cinematographer are, either. And I don't care that this is being marketed as the Movie Of Our Generation that I'll supposedly show to my kids so they can know that these unlikeable rich white dudes were the ones who shaped their world while everyone else was either missing or in the background. Naked.

Today peri_peteia made the fantastic point that we need to stop calling these films good. Because they are not in fact good. And the idea that if people would just step back and be ~objective~ and focus on the most "important" things like acting or directing or anything but those subjective annoying social justice issues, they would accept that these films are still good is wrongheaded and insulting.

That doesn't mean that people aren't allowed to love bad things. I love bad things. It's nigh impossible not to love a bad thing and compartmentalize because so many, many things are bad and everyone's threshold for badness is different. The closest thing I have to a primary fandom right now is Merlin, for chrissakes, and people, MERLIN IS BAD. It does a few things that interest me and even make me happy, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a sexist, poorly written, BAD SHOW that I was basically Stockholm'd into by Angel Coulby. But I could make a list as long as my forearm of bad shows that I like.

It is all right to talk about these things. It's not wank to talk about these things. And no fandom, no fandom, is BETTER or safer for NOT talking or even arguing about these things.

UGH I don't know y'all. I'm just mad this morning. I'm going to try to make a post about things that make me happy later, and then I'm going to make things for halfamoon because that will make me happy. And idk, idk.

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sickened

2011-01-08T21:33:14Z

Here's Congresswoman Giffords talking about violent rhetoric and threats back in March:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

She is fighting for her life right now after someone shot her in the head today. At least five people have died, including a federal judge and a child.

Words matter.

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i really don't want no hassle

2010-12-27T16:10:20Z

+ My holiday was pretty great. Food and family and wine and meeting, then awkwardly holding, my 20-day-old niece. SO TINY AND SQUIRMY OMG. I love babies, especially if they're related to me, but I don't know if I have vast stores of maternal instinct, lol.

She's the cutest though. ♥ Hope everyone had a good holiday. Despite being on the East Coast the brunt of yesterday's storm missed me, but I hope everyone who got hit is home safe and warm or traveling safely. <3

+ I watched the DW Christmas special, which was sweet and lovely and visually beautiful -- once you get past the literal girl in the refrigerator. Oh Moff, I can't with you sometimes. Michael Gambon was a good Scrooge, however I might feel about his Dumbledore, and ELEVEN WAS BACK IN MY EYEBALLS. I really love that Doctor to ridiculous degrees. Amy was lovely even though her part was small. Also SPACE FISHIES.

Ever since the RTD days, Moffat has basically been telling the same story over and over again, seems like. But he tells that story very well? The trailer for season six was AMAZEBALLS. RIVER. AMY IN UTAH. STETSONS ARE THE NEW FEZ -- now with 100% less fetishism and appropriation! PUT IT IN MY EYEBALLS. Just don't pre-empt Merlin.

+ Two movies I watched over the holidays: True Grit and Black Swan. Brief thoughts:

Black Swan

Aronovsky films are not really my thing, at all. I don't like to be disturbed with shit like hangnails being ripped off all the way down the fingers. I AM A DELICATE SOUL. But I wanted to see this one because it was full of ladies and has been hyped a lot. And... it was good, I guess. It was visually stunning and the music was wonderful, but not much about the story was especially deep or unpredictable, except that going into it I wasn't expecting it to be so much about Nina's psychosis and dissociative... whatever that was. IDK, I don't know what to say about it? It's literally about a girl with serious mental problems who descends deeper and deeper into herself once she gets this role in Swan Lake that she's been working for her whole life. And it wasn't the story I expected but it was portrayed in a really chilling, disturbing, creepy way. Even if I groaned and looked away multiple times.

It needs some heavy trigger warnings for the glorified suicide at the end and I'm not anywhere near equipped to critique how Nina's mental illness was handled. If you have triggers for anything like this, you want to definitely avoid this movie.

All that said, Natalie P deserves ALL the awards for that stunning performance. I loved Mila Kunis too, I think her character was the only one I genuinely liked. And I kind of wish the story had been different because I get tired of lesbian scenes/plots/storylines that turn out to be twisted or not real in some way. Oh, and basically every time Vincent Cassel's character was on screen I wanted to smack him.

True Grit

I have never seen the original, but I LOVED THIS MOVIE. From all the promotions you wouldn't have thought the film would be as much about Mattie as it was. Just like with Tangled earlier this fall, I guess the studio didn't think people would want to see it otherwise so they had to smuggle the girl-centrism in under the guise of a dudefest. *eyeroll* BUT YEAH, Mattie was central, it was HER story, and Hailee Steinfeld more than held her own against Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, who were both wonderful in their own right. I love Mattie so much! Stubborn and smart and precocious and naive but oh-so-brave. Hearts in my eyes for the whole film.

If I had to critique it, and I don't know if it's because it was following the old version or not, but the ending was a little rushed/abrupt. But I found I didn't care so much because it was more about the journey than the end-point. I'd definitely recommend this one.

+ Everyone's making end-of-year lists! I never have before, but if I find the time I kind of want to put together a 2010 music post of some sort. Or perhaps a post about the TV I loved. There was a lot of TV. More on this later.

+ And oh man, sometime soon I need to talk to you guys about kdramas. Tumblr has made me start watching You're Beautiful and Secret Garden and hommmmg. *____*

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cooking will commence in t-2 hrs

2010-12-25T12:04:47Z

...at least my portion of it will; no doubt my mom started sometime last night.

+ Happy Christmas/Holiday/Saturday/Yuletide/Doctor Who Day everyone! ♥

I know I haven't been around a ton this month due to work, busy-ness, traveling, being sick while traveling, and whatnot, but I just want to say you guys are amazing, I love you the most and I'll catch up with you soon. I wish you all the best things for the rest of this year and in the new one. ♥

+ Someone wrote me a Yuletide fic! With Eyes To See, a faaaaaaaabulous slice of Attolia/Eugenides (from The Queen's Thief series!!!!!!!).

+ Heading down to my folks' house in am hour or two, but I'll probably be back interneting sometime tonight if I'm being honest. (DOCTOR WHO DAY)

+ ETA: OH. GOSH. Teach me to post before 7am again. DUDES, WHICHEVER OF YOU SENT ME LJ TOKENS ANONYMOUSLY, THANK YOU. I wish I knew who you are so I could write you something! If you would like that please let me know what you want to read. ♥ And thank you to everyone who sent me a v-gift, a message on tumblr, a card, or anything like that. I don't deserve y'all sometimes. ♥

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