yet another post of random disconnected babble
* This just made me choke on my coffee. I think I enjoy The Meathead Perspective far more than I enjoy the actual band Nine Inch Nails.
* I’m not an Avatar fan, but I’m still upset by the blatantly racist movie casting. Just… what the hell? I’m glad to see that the fandom has already launched a letter writing campaign.
* This xkcd comic is awesome and totally nails the “nice guy” phenomenon. The wank it’s generated is severely depressing, though. “Women have nearly exclusive control over the nation’s sex supply, and that will never, ever change“???? *headdesk*
* ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
jaydk and kalichan came over to my place on Saturday night for a very fun evening of wine and television. We watched the first episode of The Devil’s Whore, after which jaydk declared that she couldn’t stand to continue watching history be raped in such a blatant manner, so we switched to the first episode of Life on Mars (which kalichan had never seen!) to get the bad taste out of our mouths.
To be honest, I didn’t mind The Devil’s Whore–probably because I’m woefully ignorant about that period of English history, and because I was only watching for John Simm. He had his shirt off for a whole scene, so I got what I wanted out of the deal. :P
* This panel description has me dreading Gallifrey One. I think it might be best if I spend this convention drinking and chatting and avoiding most of the actual programming. >:( Still looking forward to seeing Phil Collinson, though. And hopefully to hearing interesting insights from the various new series writers who are attending.
* I’ve kind of reluctantly gotten into Spooks–I actually went out of my way to watch the season finale as soon as possible. I don’t love the show by any means. It’s pure genre, which makes it incredibly predictable; it never does anything that a spy drama wouldn’t do. But it’s quite a good example of a spy show, which makes it entertaining for what it is. Well, okay, mainly the entertaining thing is the lovely contrasts between Richard Armitage’s pale skin, black hair, and blue eyes. But occasionally he even gets to do some actual acting! And I kind of love the character of Ros–her competence and snark make her one of the more appealing female characters I’ve seen in quite a while.
* I’m re-reading Pawn in Frankincense despite myself. I forgot how funny this one is as it starts off! In fact, I think I forgot almost everything that happens except for the ending, which kind of blew the rest of it out of the water. It’s a totally different experience to read this series for a second time; everything makes so much more sense when you already know what’s going to happen. Dunnett’s style of keeping the reader completely in the dark for 90% of each book (and the series as a whole) is incredibly frustrating, but definitely rewarding if you’re able to put up with it. It also makes re-reading a whole new experience–you can actually appreciate the subtleties instead of just wondering what the hell is going on. It also helps that I’ve got a book of translations with me this time around, so I can figure out what the hell they’re saying when the characters suddenly switch to French or Latin.
* I’m resisting the urge to write a long song-by-song analysis of “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.” I know that no one cares about my interpretation of a 35-year-old classic album that I’ve only been listening to for two weeks. Still. It’s all I’ve been thinking about. I haven’t even turned it off at night, because it’ll play in my head if I don’t have it actually playing from my speakers.
* 5years.com is an incredibly helpful website if you suddenly decide to get obsessed with “Ziggy Stardust” 35 years too late. Plus I’m learning all this stuff about glam rock–now I totally get that scene in Life on Mars where Sam meets Marc Bolan!
* I bought this Best of Bowie DVD. It’s all so totally totally awesome for about the first 50 minutes, and then… 1974 happens. Good god. I think maybe I’m a fan of Ziggy Stardust, not of David Bowie?
* I wish I’d gone to the Bowie Ball last weekend. I totally want to go see this all-female Ziggy Stardust cover band in January. And I want to go see this thing at MOMA even though I doubt 1) I can get tickets, 2) that it’s anything I haven’t already seen on the Best of Bowie DVD.
* I finally figured out how to connect my computer to my TV wirelessly. It’s a combination of this and this and it totally works! My TV is a second monitor and I can just drag video files over to it and play them. Now I should probably cancel my cable TV, but I’ve gotten addicted to The Rachel Maddow Show and now I kind of don’t want to give it up. I suppose I could just watch that online too. And I might actually continue catching up on more of those old Doctor/Master episodes now that I don’t have to waste CDs on burning them.
Although I might just watch lots of YouTube clips of young David Bowie instead.
Current Mood: 
bored
33 Responses to “yet another post of random disconnected babble”
rm on December 11, 2008 4:18 pm | Link
There’s a decent chance I’m going to be on the panel in question, and really, really hope this turns out to be the case.
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 4:40 pm | Link
OMG, I so, so hope that you are on that panel. Particularly because it would subvert the default masculinity implied in the “you know, us guys” panel description (*gags*).
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fauxkaren on December 11, 2008 4:20 pm | Link
It’s really funny that you mention Nice Guys (TM) and The Devil’s Whore in the same post because I think that John Simm’s character is a Nice Guy (TM). It’s more apparent in the 2nd and 3rd episodes, I think, but yeah. haha. I love John Simm, but yeah. Have you only watched the first episode?
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 4:39 pm | Link
I only watched the first episode–in which his character was already CREEPY BEYOND WORDS. Does it actually get worse???
(I pretty much gave up on the characters and plot as soon as the bad writing became apparent and just focused on the pretty, pretty actor instead.)
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fauxkaren on December 11, 2008 4:48 pm | Link
The sniffing the garter stands out as the most downright CREEPY thing that he does, for me. But oh gosh. He really does some other creepy stuff in later episodes.
And the writing gets worse I think. BUT there is a very pretty actor in the 2nd episode.
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 5:06 pm | Link
I adore John Simm, but of all the characters he’s played, the only one I actually like is Sam Tyler. (Well, and I love the Master in a cracked-out way, but I certainly wouldn’t want to encounter him in real life!) But generally Simm tends to play psychos and sleazebags–thankfully his talent makes them entertaining to watch. So, yeah, I’ve pretty much given up on the plot and characters of The Devil’s Whore and will just be focusing on him as an actor.
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JayDK on December 11, 2008 5:58 pm | Link
HOW could the writing get worse???? Do they finish the Civil War with a nuclear bomb or something? Do Satan and Sexby duel for Our Heroine’s soul?
I hope there’s more red wine to finish off this one…
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 5:59 pm | Link
I’ve still got two bottles left over from Thanksgiving!
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Circe on December 11, 2008 4:50 pm | Link
This is weird because I was out of the blue watching young Bowie on YouTube, I’m watching the finale of Spooks right now and making a Richard Armitage picspam from screencaps because he’s the face of an original character I’m writing and I’m going to watch the Devil’s Whore finale shortly (it gets much better after the 1st episode, not historically, but it finds its narrative rhythm.)
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 5:02 pm | Link
IT’S LIKE WE’RE SHARING A BRAIN.
Which young Bowie vids were you watching?
You’re going to share the Richard Armitage picspam with your friendslist, right???
I’m still sad that we didn’t get to hang out when I was in London!
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Circe on December 11, 2008 5:17 pm | Link
Very strange brain sharing!! Mmmm a few vids — some of him before Ziggy era, just him and a piano. I think I ended up there because I was watching the Pet Shop Boys remix of Hallo Spaceboy.
I love Richard Armitage: this is where I got all the images from. He’s so fucking attractive in a suit.
http://www.armydreamers.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=7&Itemid=62
Many apologies about London — it was the stressiest fucking week at work and I should have called to say I didn’t have time to meet up, but well, I left it too late and then felt like a jerk. So, apologies to both of you. I hope you had a splendid time though :)
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 6:01 pm | Link
Ah, okay, I was wondering if you hadn’t seen my post at all. I’m sorry you were so busy! We’ll meet up again one of these days.
Oooh, thank you for the pretty Armitage pictures. Although if you take away the hair, he looks almost exactly like the guy I had a giant crush on two years ago, which freaks the hell out of me. *sigh*
I love the pre-Ziggy era Bowie vids. He was just such a beautiful boy. With talent and charisma too!
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kali on December 11, 2008 4:51 pm | Link
Okay, so I’m on… I think… Ep. 6 of series 1. Yep, only two left to go for this series. It just keeps getting awesomer! And slashier! And Simm just keeps getting hotter, and OMG do he and Hunt, like, ever actually have sex? Because it seems not beyond the realm of possibility. Also, he’s definitely in a coma. I officially throw my hat in the ring behind that horse.
And the song! I mean, there’s even a creepy little girl and a clowns! Clowns! It’s so meta-tastic. I keep hearing “Life on Mars” in my sleep now… it’s eternally stuck in my head. Fortunately it’s such a great song, I don’t care.
And, and I have found an epic Who/LoM crossover that seems to involve Jack/Sam and the Master in some way, but I can’t actually read it yet ’cause I don’t want to be spoiled. But yay for the many incarnations of John Simm. They should certainly all be shirtless all the time.
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 5:09 pm | Link
Ooh, you’re going through it quickly! Isn’t it insanely slashy? Something like 95% of the fanfic is Sam/Gene; there’s a ton over at the LJ comm “lifein1973″ (but don’t go over there until you finish the series–you definitely don’t want to be spoiled for the ending).
That Bowie song is just so perfect. I love the use of music throughout the series; it’s such a great way to capture the feel of the era.
Ooh, can you link me to the Who/LoM crossover? I’m curious to see if it’s one I’ve already read. I’ve seen several good ones–I’ll rec them to you once you’ve finished the series.
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kali on December 11, 2008 5:18 pm | Link
Yeah, I’m totally sucked in. If I could watch any faster, I would, but it’s been a busy week.
Here’s the link: http://community.livejournal.com/damageverse/613.html
it’s a wip, and I haven’t read any of the Sam stuff, but I read the first Jack story, and it was good! And I love how it seems to play with timelines.
I look forward to your recs. *g*
Also, we should get together and finish MST3King The Devil’s Whore. I mean, if it gets even creepier, I think it has to be seen to be believed.
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 6:09 pm | Link
Awesome, thank you for the link!
Yes, let’s totally get together and finish MST3King The Devil’s Whore! A Saturday in January maybe?
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Caro on December 11, 2008 5:13 pm | Link
I’ve volunteered for that panel and a couple of others. Shaun’s known me for a long, long time and he knows I don’t put up with crap from fanboys.
Problem is, Shaun also loves to stir up controversy — he believes it causes buzz for whatever group or event he’s involved with and he doesn’t always stop to think about the consequences or who he might piss off. Frankly, back when we were both involved in the same TNG group (he was head of the group, I was his second), I often served as the “designated adult”, smoothing things over.
Yeah, a loooong time.
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 6:06 pm | Link
I can understand controversy generating interest, but isn’t insulting the future of your fandom (y’know, those who joined post-2005) a bad idea if you want to keep your convention relevant?
And, I don’t know, there’s a difference between controversy and blatant sexism. The way that thing is written is just so offensive–like there were no women in the fandom before 2005, like all women ship, that no men ship, that men are logical and rational whereas women are sex-crazed creatures of emotion, that people who care about romance don’t also care about logic and plot, that men are the default and “true” fans… *sigh*
I definitely hope to see some smart women on that panel! *crosses fingers*
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spikewriter on December 11, 2008 8:21 pm | Link
What’s really ridiculous is that Robbie, the con chair, the person who’s supported this con through thick and thin, personally shelling out her own money in the early years (and this isn’t legend, I saw it) — is a woman.
But Shaun is also one of those people who knows how the world is supposed to go and…how do I put this? In some ways, Shaun’s relationships with women a whole (this can be different with individuals whom he’s gotten to know) often seems rather stuck in adolescentland. Having travelled with him, he’s one of those “you are woman, therefore I must protect you and hold the tickets and tell you where to go.” I nearly smacked him several times, especially when I wanted to set off around Washington DC on my own. (Having said that, he can also be a good friend, but the relationship is an interesting one.)
And, lord, he knows full well he couldn’t run this con without women, but I think the fact that there’s a certain toxic enabling going on in the LA Doctor Who Fan club that’s at the heart of this con plays into all of this. One of the reasons that even if I’m active in Who fandom, I ain’t going near those folk. Besides, they meet the same day as my RWA chapter.
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a_white_rain on December 11, 2008 6:03 pm | Link
“Women have nearly exclusive control over the nation’s sex supply, and that will never, ever change“
What does that even MEAN.
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 6:07 pm | Link
Sex = pussy? Men desire and women are desired? The old active/passive thing? Women as commodities and objects rather than human beings? Sexism at its finest? All of the above?
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a_white_rain on December 11, 2008 6:08 pm | Link
But how do we have control of the sex supply. That doesn’t make any sense. Even more so if you want to take into account that most of us are sexually abused in our lifetime.
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 6:11 pm | Link
I never said it made sense!
We have control because we’re the gatekeepers, and we’re selfishly hoarding our vaginas instead of sharing them with the horny men of the world as we’re supposed to? Thus leading to the whole “women owe me sex” attitude that afflicts the Nice Guy ™ and the Open Source Boob Project and plenty of other asshole men.
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a_white_rain on December 11, 2008 6:13 pm | Link
Oh man I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to general you because none of this makes sense to me at all.
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 6:15 pm | Link
I know! I’m just trying to understand it, too. It’s horrible nonsense, of course.
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caia on December 11, 2008 7:08 pm | Link
On the one hand, I agree that the casting of that movie appears racist.
On the other hand, 2 out of the 4 original characters appear to have bright blue eyes, and the first one is very pale with light grey-green eyes. Knowing nothing at all about the story or the series, if you said, “cast this guy”, I’d pick a white kid. The second two, I’d probably try to find multiracial actors; the fourth is the only one I’d cast East Asian.
In other words, I think the original drawings themselves may have played into Euro-centric beauty ideals. And I think there would be similar (justified) outcry if they cast Asian actors and had them wear blue contact lenses.
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 7:54 pm | Link
From what I understand, the show is steeped in Asian culture and the characters are supposed to be Asian.
Even if they were a mixed group… surely some of the cast should be Asian?
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caia on December 11, 2008 9:09 pm | Link
Oh, definitely. And reading a little more, I think they should cast them according to the cultural source, since each clearly has a distinct background. I’m just saying, I think the artwork may have set up this sudden but inevitable betrayal. (And may have some of its own issues with race).
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Greenwitch on December 11, 2008 8:39 pm | Link
I do believe that Rachel Maddow’s show is available as a free podcast download on iTunes…
…it’s worth a shot *G* When I move, I’m debating not getting cable and just going with an HD antenna for news and such. I am a bit of a junkie on that…
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rusty-halo on December 11, 2008 11:43 pm | Link
They have free stuff on iTunes? LOL. I didn’t know that–I dislike Apple and don’t have iTunes. I might download it if I can get stuff free, though.
It looks like they also have Rachel’s show on msnbc.com, but I can’t tell if it’s the whole thing or not. Guess I’ll try it out!
So much is available online now or via Netflix that it’s starting to seem really silly for me to be paying so much for cable. Especially since I don’t have an HDTV so streaming video isn’t particularly worse quality than analog broadcast TV anyway.
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Greenwitch on December 12, 2008 12:45 am | Link
Yeah! Podcasts, mostly (99.999%, probably.) And mostly not video, Rachel’s show is one of the one’s that’s free — it only has the most recent episode though. But it IS the whole thing. Olbermann is up there too.
iTunes isn’t all that bad, as long as you’re not paying for their DRM :P LOL. If it’s free, go with it.
Too true. I don’t have HDTV either (just the antenna), and Hulu only gives you like 2 minutes of commercials in total per ep, so it’s great. I’m addicted to Discovery and History Channels though, heh. Hopefully they’ll jump on the streaming bandwagon soon… they’ve got some stuff up but not full eps.
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soundingsea on December 11, 2008 10:30 pm | Link
I’m resisting the urge to write a long song-by-song analysis of “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.” I know that no one cares about my interpretation of a 35-year-old classic album that I’ve only been listening to for two weeks.
I want to read this! I don’t have a lot of deep thoughts myself, but I really like Ziggy Stardust, Starman, and Rock’N'Roll Suicide. There seems to be a lot of loneliness in this album.
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rusty-halo on December 12, 2008 3:58 pm | Link
There seems to be a lot of loneliness in this album.
Oh, yes, definitely. Loneliness combined with a sort of longing for transcendence (which may be an illusion or at best a temporary state followed by an inevitable fall) … I love it. Even though the whole thing is on one level a spectacle, layers of performance within performance — David Jones playing David Bowie playing Ziggy Stardust playing rock n roll — it also captures certain core human emotions so truthfully and beautifully.
(I might write my thoughts on the songs later. Thank you for being interested!)
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