 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My husband and I are moving into a new apartment soon, and we thought we'd take the opportunity to upgrade our furniture and get some proper grown-up stuff. Like, non-particle board stuff not requiring self-assembly. Unfortunately, all of the proper grown-up price tags we've been seeing kinda make my skin crawl. Sometimes, though, the experience is surprisingly hilarious. Check out this real life advertisement, where each bullet point just gets more and more ridiculous as you read on: Reclaimed Elm & Iron Leaner Shelving
$445 - $795"
Reclaimed elm doors repurposed from old buildings gain new life when paired with cast steel bars in our industrial shelving. The clean, spare design lends itself to use in multiples, configured side by side in a room.
-- Antique reclaimed elm is hand-selected, planed and sanded
-- Shelves may have holes where hinges or doorknobs once resided – a souvenir from their previous lives
-- Cast steel frame is welded and riveted for strength
-- Larger shelves are sized to hold wide-screen TVs and other media components
-- Removable shelves make space as required
-- By their nature, unsealed salvaged wood planks may be somewhat uneven, and may cup or bow slightly over time, further enhancing their rustic one-of-a-kind character; cracks, nicks and imperfections will be present
-- This item is artisan crafted with meticulous care. Given its handmade and hand-finished nature, variations in the wood or metal work are to be expected and celebrated.
-- Each item is unique and no two are exactly alike
-- Bolts securely into the wall
-- Professional installation recommended
-- This item is crafted with unsealed metal that may rust over time, enhancing its rustic one-of-a-kind character. Note that the rust may rub off if it comes in contact with other furniture or fabrics. So basically: The shelves may have holes in them. The shelves may be uneven and cracked. The shelves may bend over time under the weight of things you put on them. Apparently, steel and iron are exactly the same thing (yes, I know one comes from the other, but nah). The metal may rust and that rust may come off on your furniture or clothes. But don't worry! It's RUSTIC. Not RUSTY, see? RUSTIC. Expect and celebrate it! I really want to find the person who wrote this copy. Because apparently they are on some very happy fun drugs. PS: Bonus hilarious interior design mocking: Fuck Your Noguchi Coffee Table (Tumblr) -- my new favorite blog This post has  comments at its original location at http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/250577.html. Please comment there or here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oscar nominations are out. My source, as usual, is ONTD. I like the annual awards roundtable interviews, in which publications like Newsweek and The Hollywood Reporter gather frontrunner actors and directors for chats about their craft. Although I get overdosed quickly -- these people have really big, pretentious heads, you know? Speaking of which, George Clooney. One of the interviewers in the Newsweek Oscar roundtable asked Viola Davis, nominated today for her leading performance in The Help, how that could possibly have been her first leading movie role given that she is a 46 year old actress with many previous award wins and nominations in film and on stage. She began to answer the question by talking about how roles for black actresses are rare, because film studios believe they aren't marketable to a white male audience. And then GEORGE FUCKING CLOONEY interrupts and runs his mouth for almost four minutes straight about general issues of audience and marketing and roles for women -- not even black women, but women full-stop, like, thank you George, for supplying your smugly helpful perspective as a woman on this -- before finally shutting the fuck up and letting Viola Davis go back to answering the question that was HER question to answer in the first place. ( video of this nonsense embedded under the cut )Also, George? You've made a good name for yourself as a director, writer and producer as well as an actor. So why don't you try using some of that influence (especially given how all of Hollywood seems to be riding your dick right now) to cast more diversely in your next movie? Steve McQueen, director of Shame, might appreciate that. I will watch every single one of McQueen's movies because he had the balls to put an entire panel of white male directors on the spot for their casting choices, in a Hollywood Reporter roundtable in which McQueen was the only person of color. You could have cut the awkwardness with a knife. ( video of this fabulousness embedded under the cut )And speaking of the movie Shame, Clooney's nominated as a leading actor but Michael Fassbender isn't. I have no love for Fassbender as a person, given the domestic violence allegations against him, but I can't deny that as an actor, he knocks Clooney out of the park. We saw Shame over the weekend and the fact that Fassbender wasn't recognized by the Academy is, well, a shame. It was also just an excellently made movie. Definitely recommend it. * In other news, I finished the Silmarillion-related sections of The Silmarillion. I was not expecting Túrin Turambar. I mean, damn. I also have a nice hardcover illustrated copy of The Children of Húrin collecting dust on the shelf, but I'm kind of afraid to open it because of the sheer amount of blood, angst and tragedy probably contained therein. The condensed version in The Silmarillion was QUITE ENOUGH. Getting more and more excited about my Hobbit re-read and the movies, though. I expect the Sherlock boys will do very well. And I need to watch something Richard Armitage has been in, because I am v. intrigued. * We've also finished Downton Abbey Series 1 and about two-thirds of Series 2. ( spoilery thoughts )* Finally, ![[personal profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) laurashapiro kindly gifted me with some paid Dreamwidth time a little while ago. A nice gesture like that should be passed on. I've been meaning to post some invite codes, and as the free account promotion period has passed (I think), there's no time like the present. See below for 15 invite codes, which anyone may feel free to use. ( Read more... )This post has  comments at its original location at http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/249160.html. Please comment there or here.Tags: books: tolkien, movies, race/ethnicity, tv: downton abbey
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Further thoughts on The Silmarillion, from about halfway through: - Completely un-scientific guesstimation of the most frequently used words: And, Then, doom, greatest
- Seriously, the superlatives. Every other person or creature or object is the "greatest" or the "loveliest" or the "mightiest" or the "darkest" or like, the most-renowned and remembered and sung through the ages for being some kind of thing which is so much thingier than all the other things.
- Whenever the situation looks like it's completely gone to shit and no hope is left, bring in the eagles. I was listening to one chapter as an audiobook while out and about, and the plot was getting dire, and I thought, "I bet there's gonna be eagles." Immediately, the narrator went: And Lo, Arrive Some Eagles.
- Having heard so much about Beren and Luthien via LOTR source and fandom, I was not prepared for the cognitive dissonance I felt about their story: caught between annoyed eyerolling and numbing boredom.
- The most interesting stories so far were some of the shorter, more skeletal sketches: Fingon and Maedhros (now THAT is epic love), Haleth (a REAL badass woman), and Eöl and Aredhel (so dysfunctional, so awesome).
- Fëanor is such a Magnificent Bastard. I love that stubborn fucker and his motivational speeches.
And some TV thoughts: The Vampire Diaries3x11 "Our Town" -- Paul Wesley as Stefan has been so consistently awesome over the course of this show. When it all began I did not expect to love the "good" brother this much (I knew I would end up despising Damon but for a brief time I got sucked in by Ian Somerhalder's beauty). But PW's got the acting chops, and the writing for Stefan right now is really exciting and unpredictable in the good way which TVD so often pulls off. He was a BOSS last night. havocthecat has some great thoughts about Klaus's motivations. My thoughts basically boil down to: I have had mixed feelings about what he brings to the show, but I am on board now. Mostly because of... ...CAROLINE! Still the main reason I'm watching. ( cut for brief spoilery discussion )RevengeStill very satisfying. And suddenly I ship Nolan/Emily. (Or at least, I can see why you would do.) I also ship Emily/Amanda/Amanda/Emily. (I also just like how that looks.) I think Emily VanCamp was a much better actress on Everwood -- every time I hear her terrible attempt at a Dark and Serious voiceover it grates -- and I think Madeleine Stowe is also not a good actress. But the plot keeps on delivering, so despite their weaknesses they're actually quite watchable in a daytime soap opera kind of way. Downton AbbeyHave watched the first couple of eps and I really like it -- the period and setting hits that part of me that craves more of The Secret Garden, even if it lacks moors. So far the mix of likable and unlikable characters works, but of course there are so many I can't remember more than a few of their names just yet. Someone warned me it's a bit fluffy, whereas I always had the vague impression it was on the darker side? Mad MenFinished finally. And just: WTF, Don Draper?!? W T F. This post has  comments at its original location at http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/247885.html. Please comment there or here.Tags: books: tolkien, tv: downton abbey, tv: mad men, tv: revenge, tv: the vampire diaries
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Right, so I tried to read The Silmarillion when I was a teenager and basically retained none of it. I'm trying it again now, *ahem* years later, in anticipation of The Hobbit, and also because husband got me one of those lovely hardcover illustrated versions a while back which has just been collecting dust on the shelf. I figure I can finish it by December, yes? It's easier going this time around, in that I feel like I have more brains and also more context than I did back then. But wtf is dude trying to say here? But when they desire to clothe themselves the Valar take upon them forms some as of male and some as of female; for that difference of temper they had even from their beginning, and it is but bodied forth in the choice of each, not made by the choice, even as with us male and female may be shown by the raiment but is not made thereby. Like, I think he's trying to say that the Valar were created with gendered temperaments, for lack of a better term, but what I don't get is: can they still assume the form of either gender no matter what their innate temperament is? I'm sure I'll have more questions later as I proceed through the book. Watch this space. This post has  comments at its original location at http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/247509.html. Please comment there or here.Tags: books: tolkien
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've dusted off my fanfic recommendations journal at field_reports (mirrored at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) field_reports) and posted recs for a couple of novels: one is Eowyn/Legolas and the other is Snape/Hermione. I read these months ago and have been wanting to write them up for a while. I'd like to keep writing recs the way I just did these two: on the longer side, with a little more discussion and detail, and a little more openness about stuff that doesn't work for me. But we'll see how long I remain motivated. * We finished Misfits Series 3, and I have thoughts ( behind the cut )Also, apparently Misfits is yet another UK show being remade in the US, with Gossip Girl's Josh Schwartz on board as co-writer and co-producer, and just, ugh. Can we not? I think the remakes of The Office and Being Human were actually decent and in some ways improved on the originals, but I really can't see the foul and irreverent humor of Misfits translating across the pond, and that's such a key element of the show for me. One good thing is, I have now acquired about 125 songs used on the show's BOMB ASS soundtrack, many of which were previously unknown to me as I've never been an avid collector of either electronic dance music or indie UK singer-songwriters. It's like I have a whole new iPod now! This post has  comments at its original location at http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/247075.html. Please comment there or here.Tags: recommendations, tv: misfits
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yay Yuletide reveal! I can now properly thank littlerhymes for the beautiful The Secret Garden Mary/Dickon story and chiana606 for the sweet Little Women Amy/Laurie Madness treat. They really made my first Yuletide special. :) ETA: This whole time I actually had a THIRD story, a Madness treat which for some reason didn't show up on my Gifts list until just now, but if I'd clicked on the fandom at AO3 at any point, I would have found it. But I didn't, or maybe I did and I just completely didn't see it, because I am a dick. But you can now read it here: Back to the Garden by calliette and hazel, 761 words of The Secret Garden Mary/Dickon goodness, thoughtfully exploring all the social and class and post-war issues which this OTP refuse to let separate them. ♥ /end ETAI wrote two stories: Love Alters Not (3598 words) by  hesychasmFandom: Do Começo ao Fim | From Beginning to End (2009)Rating: Explicit Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Francisco/Thomás Characters: Thomás (Do Começo ao Fim), Francisco (Do Começo ao Fim) Summary: Thomás and Francisco meet in London for the long-awaited Olympics. This was a pinch hit for . I actually just discovered this movie over the US Thanksgiving weekend, and then re-watched it approximately eleventy-bazillion times. It's a Brazilian independent from 2009 about two half-brothers who fall in love with each other. It's notable for being one of the few fictional depictions of incest which treat the relationship as romantic and natural (that I've heard of, anyway). The plot is not much to speak of; most of the eleventy-bazillion re-watches were for the two gorgeous actors who portrayed the brothers as adults -- they really gave it their all, as you can see in this leaked rehearsal footage (NSFW!). Beta thanks to sophia_helix, who hadn't seen the movie but let me wheedle a last minute read-through out of her anyway, and also picspam her with screencaps. A Clear View of the Sea (17284 words) by hesychasmFandom: The Eagle | Eagle of the Ninth (2011)Rating: Explicit Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Esca/Marcus Flavius Aquila, Marcus Flavius Aquila/Cottia, Esca/Cottia Characters: Esca Mac Cunoval, Marcus Flavius Aquila, Cottia (Eagle of the Ninth) Summary: Esca's first year on the farm, living as a free Brigantes once more. (Movie/book fusion.) This was my main assignment, for betweenthebliss. I was surprised to see The Eagle end up on the request/offer list, because I think of it as a busy fandom even if small. When I saw the movie I was intrigued by Esca's ambiguous loyalties and somewhat inexplicable character arc, and thought it could be interesting to write from his perspective (most of the fandom seems to write from Marcus's). So I threw it in as a "why not?" offer and then, when assignments went out, it was the only one we matched on. And I promptly went, oh fuck, now I have to learn all about Ancient Roman Britain! betweenthebliss also asked for an OT3 with Cottia, the British girl Marcus plans to marry in the book version. Cottia doesn't appear in the film and I had actually never read the book. Once I did, I thought two things: (1) of course OT3!, and (2) Esca's anger and resentment in the movie actually make more sense to me than his characterization in the book, inexplicable arc notwithstanding. So I decided to fuse the two canons together. Then I had to skim the sequel to the book to learn about the farm they all build, and scour the Internet to learn what kind of crops and flowers grow on down country soil and what British tribes lived where and what Romans used for lube, and other interesting trivia which will make me a hit at parties. And then somehow after all of that background reading I wrote 17K words. (Plus the above pinch hit.) Whew! Beta thanks to sophia_helix again, and kestrelsan, who both let me babble at them about Channing Tatum's mysterious hotness. (Jamie Bell's hotness, not so mysterious.) * Happy New Year and best wishes to all for a fab 2012! This post has  comments at its original location at http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/246813.html. Please comment there or here.Tags: fanfic, fanfic: from beginning to end, fanfic: the eagle, yuletide
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For Yuletide, I got two lovely stories which took me back to some of my childhood ships: Time's Arrow (The Secret Garden, Mary/Dickon after WWI, 2548 words), and New Ways to Dream (Little Women, Amy/Laurie on the voyage home, 628 words). Wonderful stuff in both -- and yay! for my first Yuletide. The holidays so far have also involved seeing a lot of in-laws, friends, and TV. So pretty good, on balance. MisfitsOh, this show! We've just finished Series 2, out of three series aired so far. (By the way, I have come to really prefer the shorter, more focused seasons of UK shows and US cable shows -- not to mention the curse words and nudity.) For those unfamiliar, this is a UK show about young offenders doing community service on a council estate in southeast London who get superpowers after being struck by lightning -- as do some other people, with varying degrees of using said superpowers for good vs. evil. Obvious similarities to Heroes, Smallville, X-Men and Skins are obvious. But it's so witty and oftentimes over the top funny/ridiculous, just as much as it brings the drama and the angst. The characters are all charmers in their own ways -- they fuck up a lot and they're young and stupid, and most of the situations they get into are forehead-slappers...but I adore them all. It's also filmed in a really slick and interesting way, making the otherwise drab background scenery of a London council estate kind of beautiful. I will be looking for vids as soon as we're done with the last series. I'm aware of various casting and plot spoilers. ( cut for mention of those and for more specific commentary on Series 1 and 2 )SherlockI appreciated this as an entertaining modern take on Sherlock Holmes, but mostly I was left with two impressions: (1) I can't WAIT to see Martin Freeman in The Hobbit. (2) Why do they take cabs everywhere? It's so expensive and takes so much longer than the Tube! (I also saw the latest Sherlock movie. And while Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law all but had sex with each other on the big cinema screen, and I was happily surprised about Mad Men's Jared Harris's excellent -- and superior -- take on Moriarty, Guy Ritchie's directing style just needs to get over itself.) American Horror StoryFinished up the season. The last episode was a major disappointment, but then the last scene delivered a nicely satisfying punch. Jessica Lange deserves all the actress awards. Watch this show only if you don't take shit too seriously. Parks and RecreationThere were indeed more tears after 4x01. I blame PMS. And gingerbread. This post has  comments at its original location at http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/246632.html. Please comment there or here.Tags: tv: american horror story, tv: misfits, tv: parks and recreation, tv: sherlock, yuletide
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the middle of moving all my crap from Livejournal to Dreamwidth, I was also watching a clash of cultures between feminist bloggers and Ohnotheydidnt (ONTD for short) which in case you didn't know is a huge celebrity gossip community on Livejournal. You can read all about what happened in 43+ pages worth of comments at ONTD, but beware: the culture there is pretty flippantly rude (that's why I love it, though). But basically: ONTD's posts are mostly copy-pastes/re-blogs of outside content. The community's policy is that every post requires a link back to the source, but doesn't specify or enforce a format for links. A small feminist blog at Fempop.com ran an article by a freelance writer. An ONTD member re-posted that article wholesale at ONTD, and per policy, included a link to the original at the bottom of the re-post. However, the text face for the link only read "xxx" (an ONTD-specific convention), and neither the original writer nor Fempop were explicitly named in the re-post. The re-post got just over 200 comments from ONTD members, which is kind of small for ONTD. The original post at Fempop got 0 comments. Then Jezebel, a very big feminist blog, linked to the re-post and credited ONTD, but did not link to the original article at Fempop. The original writer saw the post at Jezebel and contacted the Fempop editor-in-chief. One or both of them contacted Jezebel and the ONTD member who had re-posted the article to ask that they explicitly name the writer. Jezebel complied. The Fempop EIC also reached out to an ONTD mod via Twitter. But before the ONTD mod could address the issue, the ONTD member deleted the re-post. The ONTD mod declared the matter done and refused to reprimand the member (as requested by the Fempop EIC). The Fempop EIC decided that wasn't good enough and posted screencaps and commentary on their website, accusing intellectual property theft, plagiarism and cover-ups, and linked themselves on Reddit and Tumblr. Another ONTD member then re-posted that post -- see above 43+ comment pages -- and also made sure to use proper MLA-style citation. *snort* Cue lots of counter-accusations that all the Fempop EIC really cares about is getting hits, and she should feel lucky now because this controversy has given them way more attention than they ever had previously and oh, waitaminit you guys, that was probably why she kicked up this fuss in the first place! And so on. * Legally and morally, I guess a lot of us would be inclined to side with the original writer and Fempop. But practically? I don't know. ( nevertheless, my thoughts let me show you them! )This post has  comments at its original location at http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/245603.html. Please comment there or here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've held out on moving to Dreamwidth for a while because I am lazy. No more! Thanks to someone at lj-comm fail_fandomanon for translating a recent post from Russian LJ developer igrick, which basically signals the "non-negotiable" end to subject lines in LJ comments. Here is the FFA discussion thread. The anon's full comment is quoted below for people who'd rather avoid the meme. lj user igrick, dude in charge of lj design, has posted the following today:
New LJ. Step one: comments.
Folks, as the first step of a major design change me and Tyoma (lj user tema) were talking about we've rolled out the new comments system onto the beta-testing servers. I wanted to say "rolled out the new design" but it's really is a completely new system, not a simple design change. It's only available to beta-users for now (you can become one by joining the lj_ru_beta community and enabling beta-mode here www.livejournal.com/betatest.bml) and to journals that have default commenting design enabled (like mine does).
Better see once than read this text a hundred times, but I'm going to talk about my impressions and major changes anyway.
- new comments can be added without page reload;
- comments could be posted by pressing ctrl+enter shortcut - this is genius;
- comments no longer have Subject field and this is non-negotiable;
- mass comment actions are made simplier: you only need to select one comment and you'll see the actions panel (we'll add more options later);
- marking new comments option - the juiciest part for people who get many of them. It's very simple: adds "new" mark to comments that were added since you've last visited the page. I've got a new habit because of it: I open the comments page, mark the first comment, select "mark all" and "collapse all" and then scroll down looking for new comments which I then expand and reply to. That means that all new comments get replies in one go without page being refreshed. Then I refresh the page and repeat the process. It's much more useful for me than email because I get a lot of comments.
- Because of the new method of selecting userpics I've started using them more.
- It's much easier to add a link, a picture or a video into a comment (we'll add selecting/adding to and from the ScrapBook).
- All actions are now animated and that looks much nicer.
And many other nice things. Anyway, if you're interested - try out the beta-mode, discuss, criticize, suggest.
You can see the post here: igrick.livejournal.com/528687.html Most of the comments at igrick's LJ are in Russian, but people started responding in English on page 6, and he is replying to them. Basically, it seems that this will be a change limited to the S1 style for now, but it will "probably" roll out across all of LJ over time. And there's some delightful stuff about how in his opinion, only 1% of LJ users use subject lines in comments, blah blah usualrudedismissaloftheuserbase cakes. Some of these changes actually do look cool, but this latest example of LJ's "customer service" was the last straw for me. So I've now imported my LJ to Dreamwidth -- this is me -- same username and everything. I'm still working out my reading list and circles and filters and what-not over there, and I am not the smartest bear when it comes to these things, so please shout out or friend me to make sure I catch you? This post has  comments at its original location at http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/245484.html. Please comment there or here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A few more random reactions to recent TV: The Good WifeI have not been enjoying this season. There are a number of reasons, but mostly I think the writing has lost that oomph factor. Also, Julianna Margulies is not onscreen enough. She's losing screen time to the rest of the huge cast, and that's annoying me because (a) I am interested in her story more than anyone's, as colorful as they all are, and (b) she is the LEAD ACTRESS, and since she beat Connie Britton for the Emmy last season I'd kind of like to keep seeing the show make reasonable attempts to justify that travesty. As for this week's episode, ugh, if you're going to make a Taiwanese name a plot point, do some basic research to get it right. ( spoiler behind cut )Mad MenMy relationship with this show is entirely superficial. Fine, it's about people feeling alienated from their own lives. Fine, it's about the hypocrisy and awfulness of early 1960s America. I think I get it when the show tries to tell me these things. My problem is that it's just so... anemic. Thinly written, thinly characterized, thinly acted. I look at this show, and I look at its sibling on the same network, Breaking Bad, and it's like pretty paper dolls getting run over by a Mack truck. No comparison and no chance. We're just starting the third season now. I'm committed to seeing it through to the end, but it feels kind of like homework. The Walking DeadThere was a Breaking Bad reference! Blue meth! *love* The show was starting to get boring rather than irritating, but this last episode had a fantastic character moment at the end, so now I'm paying attention again. Person of InterestThere was a Breaking Bad guest actor! Gale! *love* I'm not crazy about this show, but I can totally see why it gets 14 million viewers per ep. It's slick and shiny and thinks it's smarter than it actually is. At first I didn't like Jesus Caviezel in the role, but he's growing on me. He's such an odd actor, kind of in the vein of Clint Eastwood and Harrison Ford but with this quirkyness that makes him a little off-putting and untrustworthy (which, again, this dude played Jesus?). I'm not sure if he's just showing up and reading his lines, or if he's actually building a character. But I'm fine to keep watching -- he is at least easy on the eyes! Parks and RecreationNearing the end of the second season now. I'm liking all the characters more, when before I only liked Leslie and Ron and found everyone else really rather annoying. But I don't know...I just don't find it funny. It's kind of rare for me to laugh out loud at anything that happens. So I feel like I'm watching a show about some faintly ridiculous yet endearing people who are occasionally, but not often, amusing. Does it get better? Tags: tv: breaking bad, tv: mad men, tv: parks and recreation, tv: the good wife, tv: the walking dead
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We finished all four seasons of Breaking Bad over the weekend and... holy shit that was some awesome TV. I appreciate show creator Vince Gilligan's statements that they are intentionally breaking some of the rules of TV characterization. It's not about showing the protagonist gaining wisdom or getting more in touch with his emotions or more cynical in a bleak world or whatever. It's about fundamentally changing his personality -- his arc is meant to be from protagonist into antagonist, or at least into someone the audience will increasingly question themselves for supporting. For anyone interested in generalized "best ever" pissing contests, Grantland argues that this premise distinguishes Breaking Bad from the other top three shows of the past decade, The Sopranos, The Wire and Mad Men, all three of which feature characters trapped into moral cycles by their circumstances. Those characters are essentially static. Breaking Bad, on the other hand, is a journey -- an ordinary "good" person on the road to hell, making deliberate choices with good intentions (or so he tells himself) which end up turning him into a "bad" person. And in that way Breaking Bad is telling a riskier, more complex and ultimately more interesting story. Actor Giancarlo Esposito ( flawless this season, omg) has also said the show reflects some of what's going on following the global economic crisis: people choosing to approach their situations in ways they maybe never would have chosen if times were better. For me the show is about pride and privacy as well as pragmatism. It sparked spirited discussions between my husband and me over how we'd support each other through physical infirmity or terminal illness, because we discovered we had different sympathies regarding how the characters dealt with these situations. I kind of love that watching this show made us get to know each other better on that level. And more specifically, it's a critical and frequently damning look at frustrated manhood, the aspirations and self-images of white "middle American" men, the culturally ingrained need to dominate rivals and provide for and protect one's family (both the marriage-and-children kind and the kind formed by one's actions). I'm very afraid that the next and last season will explore, Corleone style, the conflicts inherent in protecting oneself when family is the only thing standing in the way. And then on a details level: wow, has Vince Gilligan blossomed since leaving Chris Carter's schoolhouse. There is a lot of meticulous foreshadow-y clue-dropping of everything from story arc to episode titles to set decorations and wardrobe choices. And it's all trustworthy, too. It's been a fascinating and thrilling ride. I highly recommend this show to anyone who's looking for some fiercely good TV, and you should definitely watch it from the beginning, unspoiled. I for one will be watching it all over again soon. * We also caught the S2 premiere of The Walking Dead. And, ugh. I just have issues with post-apocalyptic stuff: hating characters who take too long to snap into survival mode, who make easily avoidable mistakes even when they are in survival mode, hating the way that kind of frantic clumsiness is used to build tension. We spend a lot of time yelling at the TV and rolling our eyes at all the scenes with weeping mothers. Also, we still don't know the names of most of the characters. * And we watched the first two episodes of American Horror Story, mostly for Connie Britton. We are now continuing with it for both her and Jessica Lange. Every time the latter is onscreen my jaw drops in amazed delight. Otherwise the show is kind of a hot mess, but at least it's stylish and entertaining. * Apparently people were way overthinking (or underthinking?) the timeline issue in Community 3x04, so Dan Harmon has set the record straight. It was a great episode and another one to add to the list of brilliant high concept eps, like chicken finger mafia and paintball. And here's a fan's presentation of the God's eye view: ( video embed behind the cut )* Brief thought on The Vampire Diaries 3x05: ( spoiler behind the cut )Tags: tv: american horror story, tv: breaking bad, tv: community, tv: the vampire diaries, tv: the walking dead
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Below are TV shows I've been catching up on and/or am watching this season (spoiler-free): Breaking Bad(I feel like I should write that as BREAKING BAD OMFG!!!) Possibly the best TV-watching decision I have made in like, years, was to tell my husband to get over his initial squeamishness after the first two episodes and start watching the show all over again with me. It is, in a word, AMAZING. In more words: it is not a show for everyone. It is very much an exploration of middle-class white American masculinity, which I think is deliberate: the purpose of the show, beyond any plot, is to turn a lens back on this particular cultural perspective. But I find it a fascinating story -- the lens is critical, invasive and unforgiving, but at the same time empathetic and oddly angled and often quite humorous. The main characters are frustrated, proud, concerned about providing for their loved ones, about their images and reputations, about what is rightfully due to them. The character work is brilliant. The acting is brilliant. The writing is brilliant. Above all, it's hella entertaining. We're still on the third season, having just watched the episode which, if it followed Friends title conventions, would be called "The One with the Fly", and again, I feel like I should write that as THE ONE WITH THE FLY OMFG!!! If it were solely up to me I would have finished the entire run by now, but my husband can't handle more than two episodes a day, and sometimes only one. Heh. The Good WifeI appreciate this one for its portrayal of a smart, capable woman re-starting her legal career after a public betrayal by her politician husband (she had, of course, previously given up her career to be a good wife and mother). She is an intensely private person and is not very emotionally demonstrative despite being at the center of so much personal upheaval, and I like that very much, although I wish she communicated better with her children. The supporting characters are all flashy and fun to watch. Two things: (a) I feel like those supporting characters are starting to steal the spotlight in this, the third season, and (b) I need huge suspension of disbelief in order to watch the legal aspects of the show, which I guess is par for the course with legal dramas which want to be twisty and surprising, but seriously, it's ridiculous. True BloodStill full of crack, but not in the good way. What the hell happened to the show this season? The Vampire DiariesI am only watching this for Caroline. The Secret CircleI don't know why I'm watching this. I know The Vampire Diaries didn't have a great first five eps, but they weren't this bad. Gossip GirlI am only watching this for Blair and Dan. RevengeI did not like the pilot -- the acting was atrocious and the writing was mediocre. But it's picking up, and the resolution of each episode has been neatly satisfying. CommunityI feel like the show has lost some of its sparkle and the first three eps of the current season have not recaptured it. Parks and RecreationStill in the early half of the second season. It's getting better, mostly because of Ron. Star Trek: Deep Space NineWe started rewatching with Season 4, because my husband thought Voyager was the best Trek ever and I said no way, it's DS9 by a long shot, and we are now about to watch the finale. I stand by my opinion. Shows I'd like to pick up again and/or start watchingMad Men The Sopranos The Wire Prime Suspect US Person of Interest American Horror Story Tags: tv: breaking bad, tv: community, tv: parks and recreation, tv: star trek, tv: the good wife, tv: the vampire diaries, tv: true blood
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oh, man. I finally got into Pottermore and was happily clicking around, then left the house to run an errand, and now I'm back and the site is down for updates. Where is magic when you need it?? To kill the time, I will do some book reports. I've been zipping through a crapload of romance novels, including a lot of Mary Balogh's backlist. This author -- whew. She writes mostly Regency era England, with a couple of forays into Georgian era and mid-19th century Wales. Her heroines range from age 19 to 35, and most of them are NOT fiery spunky young virgins but real people with individual personalities and histories. She writes quite a lot of beta males as heroes, rather than tall massive rippling muscle marble manhood types. And when she's on, she's ON. I love so many of her characters as people, and the naked emotion in her writing, and how her sex scenes are always about character development as much as titillation. I am unashamed to say her books frequently make me cry happy tears. So here are some quick and dirty thoughts about Balogh, and a few other authors. ( Mary Balogh, A Summer to Remember )( Mary Balogh, Slightly Dangerous )( Mary Balogh, Simply Love - possible TRIGGERS for rape; also deals with disability issues )( Mary Balogh, Simply Perfect - deals with disability issues )( Mary Balogh, Longing )( Mary Balogh, Lord Carew's Bride - deals with disability issues )( Mary Balogh, The Famous Heroine )( Mary Balogh, Heartless - possible TRIGGERS for sexual assault )( Mary Balogh, Silent Melody - deals with disability issues )ETA: ( Mary Balogh, The Notorious Rake - possible TRIGGERS for consent issues )I thought A Christmas Promise, The Temporary Wife and A Matter of Class were okay. All feature nobility marrying merchant class, which was considered marrying very much beneath oneself in this time period. At least in A Matter of Class, it was the hero who was lower class -- more often than not it's the other way around. But it's only a novella-length and was a bit thin for me. Holy shit. I've read a LOT of Baloghs. ( Eloisa James, Duchess quartet and Four Sisters )( Catherine Coulter, Legacy series )( Tessa Dare, Goddess of the Hunt )Others I've read in the past year which I liked but don't have the energy to comment about now: Candice HernIn the Thrill of the Night - Kind of harmless and boring story about a widow and her male friend figuring out they love each other, until WTF the sex scene, HOW did the author think that was a clever idea? Jo BeverleyForbidden - A virgin hero and an experienced heroine! Also suffers from Big Misunderstanding plot, and from being one of a series, but still one of my favorites. Judith IvoryThe Proposition - My Fair Lady plot with the man in the Eliza Doolittle role and the woman as Henry Higgins. Really didn't like the twist. Untie My Heart - Loved it. Confidence games! Control! Yorkshire poetry! Laura KinsaleFlowers from the Storm - Really interesting look at a hero who has suffered a stroke. Lessons in French - LOVE. Such a wordsmith. The heroine and her flights of fancy! Loretta ChaseLast Night's Scandal - Loved it. The heroine is so much fun. The sex is hot. Tags: book review
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I tried the sexy vampires in book form and it was pretty bad. So I'm now back on track with my Harry Potter re-read and re-watch. I'm looking forward to Deathly Hallows most of all because I don't remember wtf happened in that book other than the ridiculous epilogue, and found that watching the movie the first time, without my critical fan checklist prepared, was rather disconcerting. I'm now approaching the part in Order of the Phoenix where JKR shatters the hopes and dreams of a gazillion R/S slashers, and I just want to shake Harry and yell, WTF you idiot boy!!! On the other hand, I snuck a peek at the movie today and once again was surprised at how good it is. I think the problem is, the first time I saw it I was post-bar exam drunk as a skunk, and somehow that ruined my ability to retain much memory of the movie on subsequent re-watches. I still don't understand the point of the plot in Goblet of Fire. Like, I now actively loathe both the book and the movie and will never re-read or re-watch them again, because the story is completely unexplainable. Seriously. Someone just try and explain it. Also, Cuaron made a beautiful movie for Prisoner of Azkaban but could it have killed him or Steve Kloves to take two minutes to explain the Marauder backstory? That was what brought the whole thing home, emotionally. It is seriously flawed for that lack. Also also, MY GOD, giving so many of Ron's lines to Hermione (in all of the movies) was just wrong. WRONG! Particularly since Emma Watson's acting gives me ulcers and Rupert Grint is the best of the three of them. (Although sad to see, in the Half-Blood Prince movie, that the child actors who played young Tom Riddle were so effortlessly superior they were just on another level. Particularly the one with the Fiennes genetic advantage.) I really now want to write a post-series fic where Neville wins Hermione away from Harry and Ron with his total awesome awesomeness. And she teaches him a thing or two in bed which she learned from Viktor Krum. Or rather, I'd really like to read that story. SIGH. Tags: books: harry potter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Apologies for the delay in posting. Oliver was kind of a pain. Hoping the next update will be within a week or so, otherwise it won't be for at least a month as I'm off to do a Big Grown-Up Thing! (i.e., the usual WIP caveats apply.) The dream of love is a two-hearted dreamSmallville, Chloe/Oliver Spoilers through 10x16 "Scion." Rated NC-17 for language, sex and violence. 6,070 words (this part). They aren't getting away that easily. part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4( part 5 of ? )part 6Notes: Thanks to sophia_helix and cofax7 for answering certain questions, thereby proving that three lawyers can be better than one. Comments and criticism welcome.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I had a book review written up but not posted for, like, ten months. Mostly because it was more of a rant than a review. But I was talking about this book recently with someone in RL and remembered I'd jotted down actual thoughts about it somewhere. I just now re-wrote the review for public consumption, but then it occurred to me that it might be interesting to others to see the original ranty version. I was interested in discussing the tone argument a while back, and in a way this provides me some internal data to think about. So, here follow the said two versions: first, re-written, and second, the original. While the SPN J2 Haiti racefail was going on, I happened to be reading Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible. I found myself asking the following question: can a book be both infuriating and a snoozefest simultaneously? ( Re-written review )* ( Original ranty review )Tags: book review, race/ethnicity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I think I've seen more Oscar-nominated movies this year than any year previously. In terms of where I'd rank them from most liked to least liked: 1. True Grit 2. The King's Speech 3. The Fighter 4. Inception 5. Toy Story 3 6. The Social Network 7. Black Swan I've already posted about Inception here and I don't have anything to say about Toy Story 3 except that it made me cry (well, I'll come clean -- the freaking trailer made me cry). I'd like to try to post reactions to the others, but mostly I've been thinking about: 1. True Grit. A real surprise, because most of the Coen brothers' movies leave me cold. I can appreciate how well-made and well-written they are, but ultimately I find them too detached from the characters and struggles they depict, which in turn forces me, as the viewer, into this superior, distant inability to empathize with what I'm seeing. Not so True Grit. I didn't see the first version with John Wayne (won't call it "original" since the Coen brothers have made clear this is not a remake) and I haven't read the book, but I'm meaning to do the latter. I've finally seen a Coen brothers movie which affected me deeply, but I sort of doubt it was due to anything they created. Mattie Ross is a character I want to get to know better, in her own words. (Especially in her words, since the wordy, literate dialogue -- much of it apparently lifted wholesale from the book -- was one of the best parts of the movie.) She's a brutally intelligent and confident 14 year old girl, played with surprising ability by 13 year old (at the time) Hailee Steinfeld, who with her Oscar nomination for supporting actress is also I believe one of the only people of color who got the acting nod this year. The film is narrated by Mattie at age 39 or so, but I can't see that Mattie would have changed much, in terms of maturity, between 14 and 39. And actually, it makes one particular scene toward the end of the movie that much more affecting, because you see that she did have some innocence to lose, after all. This is not a bad thing. Rather, it makes Mattie one of the most fascinating female characters -- well, characters, full stop -- I've seen in a long while. She's essentially the head of her family, looking to avenge the death of the former head of her family (her father). She's a lone figure in the wilds who puts her faith in her ability to hire frontier justice despite her previous reliance on and judge-like knowledge of the law and order of statutes and Latin phrases. She's a civilized, modern creature already too advanced for her time, now seeking retribution in Biblical terms. And, of course, she's trying to do so in a context completely dominated by men. The men in the movie are all colorful, well-acted characters, and Jeff Bridges of course has the showiest role as Rooster Cogburn, and he isn't John Wayne at all. But the movie knows the most interesting thing about these men is the way they interact with and relate to Mattie. And then, ultimately, we're reminded that living on the frontier is lonely, that a person's life can intersect with and change another's, but that doesn't mean they stay intertwined. At the end of the film, after the unadorned narration of a few simple sentences, I ached for Mattie. And I wanted to get to know her better. Anyway. It's a fucking good movie. Watch it. Tags: movies
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mid-season premiere time, yay! I was back in the States last week and got to watch a lot of these live. Kind of disorienting, dealing with proper commercial breaks again. Let's go in alphabetical order. Friday Night LightsTechnically not mid-season premiering, since it's just been running on DirecTV, but this week is the last episode ever. After the punching bag the last couple of eps made out of me...whoooo. I am so not ready. FringeThe fuck? There better be some good stuff next out of your bag of tricks, show. I was on thin ice before but the Olivia/Peter is now taking up too much goddamn screentime. And if a certain tired, overused soap opera plot development happens in the next episode, I think we will need to take a break. SmallvilleI missed Allison Mack's gorgeous smile. In my head, there's a better written and more complex show playing in parallel, but it couldn't possibly get any prettier. Well, except for some reason Oliver kept his shirt on in the last ep. Thankfully I understand that will be rectified this Friday. The Vampire DiariesShow is BACK WITH A VENGEANCE. So much happened in the last ep! Bottom line: Caroline continues to rule all. Tyler is losing all the sympathy he won from me. Stefan/Elena/Damon whatever. Bonnie, please become relevant again! * Other stuff I need to get back on track watching: Homicide Season Six Just saw the Peter Gallagher ep and "Saigon Rose", whichever came first. I knew about the former thanks to Swikstr's Homicidal Tendencies way back when, but was surprised at how un-tortured it was (maybe because the fic was so tortured). Go Bayliss! I thought the latter was quite a sophisticated look at Asian-American / African-American relations in an urban pocket setting. I am sad Pembleton and Bayliss and G seem to be getting less screentime overall, but Lewis has been getting a lot, maybe as much as last season, and his continued development keeps me interested and happy. Community Season One I'm liking it so far, about mid-way through, just need to find the time to finish. It's like the spunky little brother to The Office. Speaking of, my little bro showed me some of Donald Glover's comedy clips on Youtube, including the spelling bee one, snerk. I had no idea he was so tiny! I think my scale is all out of whack because of Joel McHale's freakish height. Tags: tv: community, tv: friday night lights, tv: fringe, tv: homicide: life on the street, tv: smallville, tv: the vampire diaries
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Both sophia_helix and monanotlisa are posting about Fringe, which reminds me that I've been meaning to post my own thoughts. We caught up on the episodes that have aired to date over the holidays, and immediately felt the lack of new episodes. Not only are we no longer able to mainline, we also have to wait weeks for the next one! We were so sad! I am sorry to say that it literally took until the very last episode for Olivia to move me emotionally. I don't know what it is, what's creating that distance. But the episode did feel like the pay-off for the 2.5-season emotional arc I've been (slowly) climbing along with the character, and I feel like the next episode she gets like that, I'll be hers. I'm right at the tipping point. I think I'm Walter's. Which is a little surprising, given who Walter is. But I guess his emotional access points are just easier and flashier. Peter is where the show really fails to reach me. I love his dynamic with his father, but his dynamic with Olivia, and the character himself, leave me cold. I think Joshua Jackson is mis-cast, which is also surprising for me to say. I mean, he's PACEY WITTER, friend to women! I always thought he could do anything. ( cut for spoiler-ish talk for show thus far )Tags: tv: fringe
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/user_ontd.gif?v=92.2){kind=small}
hesychasm's journal
Previous
![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}