I know a few people on my flist are going to DragonCon. I would love to meet up for drinks, fannish gossip, drooling over Tom Hiddleston, people watching, eating vegan food, etc.
If you want to meet up, please send me an email at laura at rusty-halo.com and I’ll send you my phone number so we can text. :)
Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.
I bring recs! All inspired by conversations or vids at Vividcon.
As I was telling several people, the story that had me in tears at the corner of Third and St. Mark’s was For Keeps For Good Forever by ![[info]](https://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
candle_beck. I guess you’d say it’s a darkfic–I found it creepy but also very lovely in a haunting way. It’s basically season three if Sam never found out about Dean’s deal. (And also if they were having sex and if Sam didn’t notice his own encroaching dark side.) I was listening to the podfic, which you’ll find here–I’ve been listening to all of her recorded Supernatural stories and so far every single one has been fantastic.
And now my favorite vids of the con (with the caveat that I skipped a bunch of vidshows so I may discover other favorites later):
( Vid Recs! )Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.
So, I went to Vividcon over the weekend. It was fun. I met many of interesting people and learned a hell of a lot about the history, culture, and aesthetics of vidding. I also had the pleasure of hanging out with the lovely soundingsea for three days. (This is brief–I will probably write up a more detailed con report later.)
And then I went to Lollapalooza and saw Soundgarden–despite arriving late and missing their first four songs, I managed to get to the front, about 15 rows back, without, y’know, shoving anyone or being a jerk. It was loud and muddy and hot and FUCKING AMAZING, you guys, Soundgarden!!! Although I do have to admit that I’m not sure how much of my joy is organic to me at the moment and how much comes from imagining how happy my 14-year-old self would be. But whatever. Soundgarden! They played “Mailman” and “Like Suicide” and “Fourth of July”! And the view of the Chicago skyline was beautiful. I am happy.
Then I walked back to my brother’s apartment and hung out with him for a little while because he was generous enough to let me sleep on his couch. He has a fantastically swanky apartment–one of those condos that was built to sell and has gone rental due to the recession. Huge, new appliances, beautiful view… not that I’m jealous or anything. :P Although he’s going to have to move once the economy picks up, which is not something I’d want to deal with.
His dog, Darth, was the family dog when I was a kid. Darth is now thirteen, nearly blind, totally deaf, and with a funny little white beard. My brother communicates with him in sign language, which is actually pretty amazing to see–Darth clearly understands everything my brother is telling him and is just as enthusiastic and impatient as ever. It’s also funny because even though he’s ancient and tottering, he’s still the same old Darth, sweet and happy and totally opportunistic when it comes to food. I’m glad I got to see him again.
So then I managed to sleep for two hours, got up, went to the airport, caught my 6:30am flight (which due to delays ended up taking fours hours), slept very uncomfortably crammed into a middle seat, came home, slept all day, and am not adjusting so well to the return to work grind. *sigh*
VVC report and recs post coming soon!
Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.
Oh my GOD I’m tired. I haven’t even watched the latest White Collar yet because I was stuck at a SuperVegan meeting last night and then had to go home and do a bunch of work afterward. (I liked the White Collar season premiere, though. It was nice to see the characters again, and I enjoy the banter and obvious OTPness of Neal/Peter. But I’m serially monofannish and my heart is still in the SPN-zone.)
So, all of a sudden, I’m going to Vividcon. And to Lollapalooza. This is random, right? soundingsea talked me into signing up for VVC’s waitlist a while ago, but I never got a response from them and figured it wasn’t going to happen. It turns out my registration got stuck in a spam filter–they were very apologetic and had a spot available based on my position on the waitlist, so I checked into last-minute flights, found an affordable one, and decided to go for it. I also had a voucher for a free night at a category 1-4 Marriott that was about to expire, which I was able to use to get a night at the hotel, so it just kind of seems like fate that it worked out so well.
And then I remembered that Lollapalooza is in Chicago–I’ve been really wanting to go because Soundgarden is reuniting there, but that’s a lot to fly all the way to Chicago for. But it turns out that Lollapalooza is VVC weekend! And Soundgarden is playing Sunday night after the con! I mean, there is no way I can be in Chicago the night Soundgarden’s playing and not go, right? So I bought a Sunday day pass to Lollapalooza. (Lollapalooza ‘97 was my first concert. And Soundgarden has always been “the one that got away”–I was in their fan club as a kid and came this close to getting tickets to see them on their last tour, but wasn’t able to, and figured I’d see them next time, except they went and broke up!!!!)
So anyway. I’m doing that. Anyone else going?
(I know there’s been a lot of controversy around Vividcon lately, and I haven’t been all that happy with the way that some members of the concom and some attendees handled it. But I decided that it wasn’t fair of me to dismiss the entire con based on that–there are friends I want to see, and some of the programming looks amazing.)
***
This weekend sucked. jaydk came over Saturday night and we ate and drank and watched some of her Korean shows and more of SPN S2, and everything was going great until sometime after midnight, when I decided to microwave some soup while the air conditioner in the other room was running. Oops.
The fuse blew.
( a really long story about how my weekend sucked and my apartment is probably going to burn down )Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=3521
Last night I watched Supernatural 5×09, “The Real Ghostbusters.” You guys, I freaking love this episode. It’s the most accurate and flattering depiction of a fan convention that I’ve ever seen in the mainstream media.
( A long rave about why The Real Ghostbusters is a love letter to fandom )Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=3189
So, there’s this, which you’ve probably read by now, and if you haven’t you probably should, because it involves the fandom community and it’s important.
rm responded by saying pretty much everything I was thinking.
I’ll add one thing, which is that it is both the concom’s right and responsibility to ban someone who behaved so inappropriately. I applaud the Wincon organizers for doing so, for making a responsible choice to keep their con safe for their attendees.
I’ll also say that, when something like this happens, I feel that it’s my responsibility to follow the links and understand as much as I can about what happened before I speak out about it. It’s clearly not appropriate to respond to this by criticizing how the victims handled the situation. Here is post that gets to the heart of why victim-blaming is so fucked up and horrible: Saying No by fickle_goddess. (Thanks to a_white_rain for linking to this.)
Here is a post about how rape culture works and here is a post about misogyny in fandom, both of which have been sadly demonstrated in action in this debacle.
Also, here is one of my favorite links ever: Sexual Assault Prevention Tips, Guaranteed to Work! (Thanks to jolielaide for pointing me to it.)
I feel so sick and sad about this whole thing.
Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2784
So… yeah. I went to Gallifrey One. The fact that I came home and spent three hours writing a post about a Lymond book probably says all you need to know. I’m just not that into Doctor Who anymore. It’s always sad to leave a fandom, and while I’ve had kind of a miserable experience in this one, I’m also just starting to get to know a lot of interesting people, and I’m sad to drift away so soon. But you can’t force yourself to be interested when you’re just… not.
Which is really too bad because Gallifrey is a great convention. I was so impressed by how well it was run. They had several tracks of programming, with a good mix of topics, and a great array of guests. They were the polar opposite of DragonCon in terms of being welcoming to New Who fans–I never felt out of place for being a fan of the Tenth Doctor, Simm!Master, Rose, slash fic, etc. They really did a great job providing programming for everyone, regardless of whether you’re into the old series, the new series, or both.
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who_daily, please don't link.)
blahOriginally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
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So, um, who’s going to Gallifrey One?
I’m arriving tonight and leaving Monday morning. Hope to see some of you!
cheerfulOriginally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
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* 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*
* 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.
boredOriginally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
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It sucks being at work. I just want to be at home hovering over Lucifer and watching him like a hawk. Yes, I’m an overprotective cat mommy. (I decided not to bring him here with me because traveling stresses him out and makes him eat less, and it’s important for him to eat.)
His morning shot went fine. He didn’t even react to it, actually, but it definitely went in. He’s such a sweet, gentle little guy. And his behavior has been normal–he’s alert and playful and fine.
I think I’m going to have to install a door in the middle of my apartment (there’s an empty doorway) so that I can separate the cats. I want Lucifer eating a set amount of wet food twice a day, but Angel throws fits if she doesn’t have dry food to graze on all the time.
In other news, I’m thinking about Gallifrey One. I really enjoyed talking to the New Who fans I managed to find at DragonCon. And it’s relatively cheap and easy to get to, and the guest line-up is great. I haven’t found much info on the programming, though, and on how interesting the topics are and how friendly they are to New Who fans. (I’m far more interested in fan-run programming than in celebrity guests, to be honest. I’d rather participate in a discussion than just be spoken down to from on high.)
Anyway. I’m thinking about it. Anyone ever been there?
anxiousOriginally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
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I (just a bit belatedly!) posted my photos from DragonCon 2006.
I’m generally a terrible photographer, but I get lucky sometimes. These ended up being some of my favorite photos that I’ve taken:
( The Method from Godhead and Sarah from the Cruxshadows )
There’s also photos of the Cruxshadows, Godhead, Voltaire, George Romero, Alan Tudyk, Summer Glau, Billy West, random pirates, the Snape trial, R2-D2, and lots of random convention stuff. If you’re interested.
Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please comment there.
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2032
Jeordie White is a total Star Wars nerd. This amuses me immensely.
Also amusing is the latest Meathead Perspective. I think most of the reason I keep up with NIN these days is to make sure I won’t miss any of Meathead’s jokes.
Veronica Mars last night was stunningly bad. ( not really spoilery, but just in case )
I want the organizers of New York Comic Con to die slow, painful deaths. Preferably after taking off work, waiting outside in freezing windy cold for two hours, being treated rudely at every turn, and not being able to get the autograph of the person they wasted a vacation day to meet.
Seriously, I’ve been to plenty of conventions, and I certainly never had to wait in line for hours to get in at DragonCon or San Diego ComiCon, especially in freezing weather. And I never had to arrive hours early to wait in line and get some kind of special ticket to get into an event at a convention I’d already paid for. The whole thing is a fucking mess.
I skipped Saturday and Sunday, regardless of George R.R. Martin and Stephen King. I don’t care who their guests are in the future; I am never going back.
Huh. I haven’t ranted about anything in a while. That felt good.
Back to happier things…
I watched the last half of the Oscars on Sunday night, because I was channel surfing and came across Robert Downey, Jr. I always thought of him as a really good actor who was also cute, but somehow he’s turned into a really good actor who is drop dead gorgeous. I also realized that he has a movie opening on Friday that is directed by David Fincher (Fight Club!) and is getting great reviews. I’m very excited.
It was also cool to see Ennio Morricone get an award, since those Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood Westerns are among my all-time favorite movies, in large part because of Morricone’s scores. Although, yeah, his acceptance speech was a little tedious. Whatever, he deserved the recognition.
And it was cool to see Lucas, Spielberg, and Coppola together. The Oscars are pretty interesting from the perspective of someone who is kind of fascinated by the film industry, although the movies it tends to honor are almost always the boring ones that I haven’t seen. I like fantasy and action, and “Lord of the Rings” was too pretentious for me, so, yeah. My favorite movies last year were “Pirates 2″ and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” which only got technical awards. I’m not really an Oscar person, but the ceremony itself was more interesting than I expected.
I’m re-reading A Game of Thrones. I really need to re-read the whole series and take detailed notes (there’s so many lovely bits of foreshadowing and characterization that I note in my head and then promptly forget!), but some of the thoughts that particularly stood out:
( thoughts on the Song of Ice and Fire series )
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10zlaine and I are going to see him at a convention at Harvard in January. Vericon.jaydk to this play reading thing, because it featured her latest fictional obsession, Tom Pelphrey, who plays Jonathan on Guiding Light. (I've never actually seen Guiding Light, but from having Jane as a friend, I know allll about Jonathan.) So the play was decent (a bit Breakfast-Club-esque) and the acting was quite good. So that was neat.
10zlaine. lonners will be joining us on Tuesday. paratti has also done this. ;)
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