rusty_halo

I wish I had more time to update this journal. I miss my fandom friends a lot.

So here’s a little update–film/theater/concerts I’ve seen recently:

( Pirates of the Caribbean 4 )

( John Leguizamo's Ghetto Klown )

( Derek Jacobi's King Lear )

( Scott Weiland )

( Sleep No More, again )

Aside from that, all I've been doing is working constantly and being tired and depressed. *sigh*

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.

I’m having some sort of values dissonance with parts of White Collar fandom. I keep reading these critiques that are like “Neal Caffrey is a thief, he’s selfish, he’s messed up, he has serious ethical and emotional problems!” and I’m like… yeah, and? Why is that bad?

Perfect characters are boring. Flawed characters are interesting. Why do people want flawed characters to be “fixed”? Presumably its those flaws that draw people to the characters in the first place. Real people are flawed and complicated, and they may grow up and deal with their problems in better ways, but people don’t become perfect. They keep most of their core issues throughout their lives, and the people who love them love them anyway. And of course, plenty of “flaws” are just personality traits that can be expressed in both positive and negative ways–take away the personality trait because you dislike its negative expression, and you lose the positive aspects of it, too.

I mean, yes, Neal Caffrey is a con artist. The Tenth Doctor was an arrogant know-it-all, Logan Echolls was a bully, Brian Kinney was an asshole, Sirius Black had the emotional maturity of a sixteen-year-old, Spike used to kill people and drink their blood, Jaime Lannister fucked his sister and threw a seven-year-old out a window, and Methos was a Horseman of the Apocalypse (hahaha, oh, Highlander, I miss you). I probably wouldn’t want to know any of these people in real life, but this is fiction–the more complicated and fucked-up they are, the more interesting they are to play with as characters.

This seems to come up in every fandom I’m in, to the point where I start wondering if there’s something wrong with me, like am I missing some core ethical understanding that comes naturally to other people? But, um, no, it’s just that fiction =/= reality, and I wouldn’t want it to.

Anyway, in other news:

( I went to see the Runaways and Kristin Stewart was awesome as Joan Jett )

( then I went to see Strange Days and it was fantastic on a big screen )

( and I saw Alice in Wonderland, which makes three films that pass the Bechdel test in a row! )

( then I got nostalgic for Doctor Who and watched Boomtown and missed the Jack Harkness I actually liked )

( and watched some Farscape which I've grown increasingly convinced actually was the best sci fi show ever )

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jaydk was supposed to visit this weekend for the purpose of drinking red wine and watching the ends of Robin Hood and Torchwood (you understand why the wine would be a necessity). Alas, the MTA thwarted our plans: the L train wasn’t running and jaydk didn’t want to deal with fighting to get on a sweltering, overcrowded, unbelievably slow shuttle bus. So we’ll save the bad TV for next weekend.

Dear MTA: I fucking hate you.

So, I stayed home and had a bit of a vampire-themed weekend. Netflix isn’t worth it when you keep the movies around for months, so I finally forced myself to watch The Hunger. This movie wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected it to be based on the abominable reviews. It’s visually stunning, just gorgeous. The reviews complain that it’s “style over substance,” but film is a visual medium and isn’t the ability to create such incredible images something to be lauded? Yes, it doesn’t lead you by the hand narratively (there are very few words in this film at all), but you can piece together the meaning based on the images. And you end up with something a lot more ambiguous and impressionistic when most of the meaning comes from images; it slips past the verbal part of your brain and gets into your subconscious in a way that’s more similar to music than to your typical movie. I wasn’t surprised to hear Tony Scott on the commentary saying that he was inspired by Nicolas Roeg.

( more on The Hunger )

So, yeah. Don't watch this movie for the plot, just enjoy the pretty and you won't be disappointed.

Then I watched the first two episodes of True Blood, which... wait, people said The Hunger was just an excuse for softcore porn? 'Cause... yeah. But to be fair, True Blood wasn't awful or anything. Anna Paquin is immensely talented, several of the characters seem like they could be interesting (I'm initially drawn to Tara and Lafayette), the setting is incredibly well-done and intriguing, and the opening credits are awesome. It didn't blow me away, though, and in particular I can't figure out why everyone seems to thinks Bill, the vampire, is supposed to be hot. That guy is hideous. So far none of the characters are standing out as the type of OTC that would make me fannish, but I'll give it until the end of the first season to hook me.

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* Hey, I’ve got two Dreamwidth invite codes. Nifty. Who wants one?

( * a feminist complaint about the new Star Trek movie, with mild spoilers )

* Lots of Writercon stuff happening!

Our official t-shirts (awesomely designed by contest winner Savannah Teague) are now on sale.

We're going to open workshop sign-ups on Thursday at noon EST--watch the website and LJ comm for details.

If you're attending the con, we want you to sign up to run a fan led event!

If you're interested in selling something in our dealer room you can sign up as a vendor.

We've posted interviews so that you can learn all about our fantastic guests.

And more news is coming soon!

Are you coming to Writercon? Yes, I'm asking YOU. If you're involved in fanfic in any way--reader, writer, feedbacker, beta, comm mod, ficathon organizer--Writercon is for you. Think about attending--you can find out more info at Writercon.com or

writercon or just ask me and I'd be glad to answer any questions you may have.

* Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) is awesome. It reminds me of the 80s music I listened to in high school. Which makes sense as it was released in ... 1980. Wow, man, it's like everything in my life is running in one big circle! *is a dork*

* I've been spending a lot of time reading Twitter. YEAH I DON'T KNOW, OKAY. It's addictive, though: behind the scenes snippets from Rachel Maddow, extra jokes from Stephen Colbert, a daily stream of adorkable geekery from Bowie's son Duncan Jones, fan wank from Trent Reznor, and of course all the latest NYC vegan news from SuperVegan... plus little life updates from various friends, past and present, RL and fannish. And I can read it all on my phone!

( * Doctor Who finale SPOILERS )

* Picked up The Disorderly Knights to continue my re-read. I think what stopped me for a couple months there was that it was coming up on what is, to me, the most traumatizing character death of the series. But I got past it. (*sniffle*)

And, wow, glad I'm continuing, because I just hit a couple of my favorite lines of the entire series:

"I would give you my soul in a blackberry pie; and a knife to cut it with."
(p. 331, and I don't want to spoil which character says it)

( and a longer scene, with mild spoilers for The Disorderly Knights )

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I’m so out of it today. I was up until 3am last night watching The Man Who Fell to Earth, and before that I was at my friend Eva’s birthday party at V-Spot, where they had unlimited mimosas for $10. Me and my friend Anne’s boyfriend Nemo were competing who could get their per-mimosa cost lowest; I got to $2.50 (four drinks), he got to $1.66 (six drinks), but he cheated because he was sneakily sharing his with Anne. Then we went back to Anne and Nemo’s place to hang out in the back yard and eat cake and drink more mimosas. Basically there was a lot of drinking. And cake!

SuperVegan got linked from the NY Times City Blog. It’s always cool when that happens.

On Saturday I cooked enough to last (hopefully) the whole week: rice and beans, maple-cinnamon cream of wheat, scrambled tofu, vegetable uppama (an Indian dish from that weird Vegan Cooking for One book). I was going to make this really good Asian noodle dish with coconut milk, but I forgot to buy fresh ginger.

We had a long Writercon phone meeting on Saturday night, and then around 11pm I remembered that there was a new Doctor Who episode. Oh yeah, that.

( spoilers for this episode and spec for the future )

My mom has started Checkmate. I'm skimming along so that I can answer her questions as she goes. I'm really glad I got her the book of translations--I think Checkmate is the hardest to understand without them. I'm really excited that she's nearing the end and that we'll be able to discuss the entire series soon. I like Checkmate a lot better in retrospect, based on how excited I am to get to talk about all the passages that she's reading. Really the only book in the series that doesn't inspire joy is The Ringed Castle--it's definitely my least favorite overall. Although even it is growing on me over time, as they all seem to.

Oh yeah, and I watched The Man Who Fell to Earth last night. I liked it! Which is weird because I didn't expect to like it at all. It's strange and surreal and definitely has a lot of annoying aspects (the awful female characters for one) but it's also eerie and atmospheric and very interesting. And, okay, David Bowie is just so pretty to look at throughout. So, so, so pretty.

( embarrassing fangirlishness about David Bowie )

Current Mood: weird emoticon

weird

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My tolerance for muppets has not improved over the past twenty years. And I forgot that this is (ugh) a musical. Between the muppets and the songs, I could barely sit still through the thing. It’s more an infomercial to show off 1985’s muppet technology than it is a coherent film. And David Bowie’s songs are insipid pandering mainstream crap. This is the guy who wrote Ziggy Stardust? Really?

Okay, I’m being harsh. It’s a children’s movie. (But I hated it even when I was five!) And I do understand why it’s a classic; it’s got a resonant coming of age story and a couple of great scenes. Well, okay, one great scene specifically, which I’ll admit is awesome and looks like it comes from a far superior movie:

But that aside, it’s got endless cutesy muppets, and muppets singing songs, and Jennifer Connelly overacting (I don’t blame her–she was fifteen–but I don’t want to have to sit through it, either), and lots of wandering around through a boring maze, and jokes that aren’t funny, and cliched one-dimensional characters, and, yeah, it’s just not a good film. (I also have to admit that George Lucas’ involvement creeps me out. After reading this, I think my opinion of him is permanently tainted.)

Bowie’s kind of hot. I guess. But he’s barely in the movie and his character isn’t interesting. And he’s not hot in a way that appeals to me. His character is a manipulative “bad boyfriend,” all domineering traditional masculinity, “Fear me, love me, do as I say” (”and I will be your slave,” right). He spends the whole movie fucking with the girl’s head and trying to control her. Yuck.

The Bowie I find hot is creatively vital and sexually subversive. This is hot:

( 1972 photo of Bowie playing Mick Ronson's guitar with his teeth )

( Bowie with his hands all over Ronson on Top of the Pops in 1972; I think I ship them )

Also the Life on Mars music video, which I could watch all day without getting bored. [Stupid EMI won't let me embed it.]

And I don't think I'd like Bowie if he didn't have the harder-edged, darker songs. Today's obsession is the Ziggy Stardust movie version of "Rock N Roll Suicide." I wouldn't have expected this song to work live, because it's not your typical verse-chorus-verse rock song--it's more a piece of theater. But here they add in all these backing vocalists and musicians to give it layers, and what makes it truly spectacular is the theatricality and the merging of life and art. The audience actually does play their part--they run up on stage, they try to drag Bowie into the crowd. And Bowie both plays his part and lives his part--the song is Ziggy's death and the show itself is Ziggy's last, Bowie literally killing off the Ziggy character. The whole Ziggy idea is fascinating, Bowie becoming a rock star by playing out the Ziggy story in real life.

(Why, yes, I am trying to remind myself why I like still like David Bowie after sitting through Labyrinth.)

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Doctor/Master made it to the final Writercon face-off–yay! The winning ship will be featured in the Dirty Drabbles reading at Writercon ‘09. Go vote for our guys!

***

I think I’m just going to have to accept that I’ll never be one of those people with wide-ranging, eclectic artistic tastes. I’ve always fallen into the pattern of becoming completely and utterly obsessed with one thing and of wringing every last nuance of meaning out of it for years on end–and of not being able to get into anything else until I’m finished with it. Forcing myself to watch/listen to/read things that I’m not passionately interested in has just adamantly not worked. I’m twenty-six, and this tendency is showing no signs of change, so I guess I just have to go with it.

On the plus side, the stuff consuming my brain these days is better, and a lot more wide-ranging and eclectic within its own boundaries. I’ve been thinking up this whole post about how David Bowie is similar to Raymond Watts (in terms of incorporating diverse musical genres and experimenting) and how both are much more interesting than what I listened to in high school. I’m not going to write it, because I’m lazy and I don’t think anyone would read it, but it’s percolating in my brain in interesting ways.

(One is that it’s reflected in the ways Bowie has influenced the artists I grew up listening to. Marilyn Manson stole a lot from Bowie, in very obvious and uninteresting ways. I’m noticing places where Raymond Watts was inspired by Bowie too, but always in far more interesting ways than Manson. [But then everything Watts does is more interesting than Manson.] I also kind of want to do a picspam of “blatant things that Manson ripped off from Bowie,” because I’m mildly annoyed that I grew up admiring a lot of things in Manson that he stole without really even putting his own unique mark on them. I have the weirdest relationship with Manson’s work–a lot of fond nostalgia for his concerts and genuine musical respect for Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals, but a lot of disgust and irritation for his limitations as a musician and as a human being.)

***

I watched the movie Human Traffic this weekend, because I wanted to return it to Netflix so that I can get Labyrinth. (I want to see Labyrinth again because I’m wondering if I’ll finally like it. My dislike goes back to being five and hating muppets, so perhaps things have changed. Plus everyone says Bowie is ultra-hot in this movie and yet I have never seen the hotness. So we’ll see.)

( vague Human Traffic spoilers )

***

( Methos' first Highlander episode )

***

In pursuit of non-embarrassing David Bowie icons (not sure if I'm there, or if such a thing is even possible--I feel that there's kind of an inherently embarrassing teenage girl thing about LJ icons), I've come across lots of images from the film The Man Who Fell To Earth. Which I'm not sure I want to see--it sounds like something that's better in screencaps than it would be if I actually had to sit down and watch it--but then again, the icons are so pretty I'm kind of feeling like maybe it's necessary. I'll put it after Labyrinth in my Netflix queue, though based on my history it'll probably sit unwatched next to my DVD player for six months. Good thing I switched to the cheapest Netflix plan.

Also, OMG, icon makers, a link is not a fake cut! It's just a link! (And a drabble is exactly 100 words! And you damn kids get off my lawn!)

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I haven’t been posting much, because I’ve been stressed out and busy and tired, and who wants to hear about that?

I have, however, accumulated a couple of mildly interesting (I hope) things to post about.

( the Watchmen movie )

* Then the next night,

jaydk and I saw Coraline. Proof that you don't need to be "edgy" to make a good movie: it was far better than Watchmen. Smart, funny, well-written, beautifully filmed--the 3D was absolutely lovely. The story was creative and intriguing and eerie, and the lead character was clever and brave. Why do childrens' stories do such a superior job of portraying three-dimensional female characters? Is it just that we've been culturally conditioned to be unable to fathom a post-pubescent female in a way that doesn't put her sexuality front and center?

* I'm seeing a lot of talk about Doctor Who finale casting spoilers. As far as I can tell, they're from a tabloid that regularly makes shit up, so why is anyone taking them seriously? Am I missing something? (This is a genuine question. Is there any reason to believe them? I don't want to get excited about something that's completely fabricated.)

* I'm reading Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin's book about Lincoln and his cabinet. It's really interesting and I'm enjoying it, but I wish she'd stop spelling out what the reader is "supposed" to think. I can make up my own mind about what these guys did and why they did it; I don't need the author inserting her own explanation that so-and-so was arrogant and ambitious on every page. Still, it's mostly good. After being so absorbed in the 2008 election, it's fascinating to see how American politics worked 150 years ago.

* And I'm still in the middle of The Disorderly Knights. I'm going to finish it and then take a break from the Lymond series, since it's been less than six months since I re-read Pawn in Frankincense. Speaking of which, my mom just finished it and is in awe. In retrospect, I think Pawn is the best written and most moving book of the series.

( the Moonlight TV series )

Also, maybe it's just that I don't watch modern American TV anymore, but ... what is with the women? As in, they are all exactly the same: tiny, emaciated, sharp-featured, and young. No matter what character they're playing--boss, geek girl, random vampire--they are all pulled from such an incredibly narrow archetype of "woman" that it's just completely absurd. Watching a show like this, you'd never even imagine that women exist on planet Earth larger than a size four, older than thirty-five, and without those sharp facial angles that Hollywood defines as "beautiful." At least the men are allowed to have some diversity of age, size, and facial features, depending on the character they're playing, but every single woman first has to fit into this absurdly narrow definition of "attractive" before anything else is taken into account.

This is why I can barely watch American TV anymore. Once you step away from it for a while, you come back and suddenly it's like being hit over the head by how ridiculous it is. This narrow bunch of nearly-identical Hollywood model types plays pretty much every female character and the majority of male characters. Sure, an occasional talent pops through, but it's painfully obvious that these people are cast almost entirely for their looks with no regard for skill. You end up with a bunch of interchangeable Barbies and Kens running around posing as every variety of adult human being. How am I supposed to take any of it seriously?

* But speaking of American TV that doesn't suck, I have become completely addicted to The Rachel Maddow Show. It passes the Bechdel Test every night! Real women talk to each other about real issues! With none of the insipid concessions to what "women" are supposed to care about--no celebrity gossip, no plastic surgery, no cooking and baking, no fashion bullshit, just women as real individual human beings, with their own perspectives, who care about the world around them. (This shouldn't be such a shock and a rarity!) And Rachel is brilliant, witty, funny, sweet, and adorable beyond words. I know she's not perfect and I do disagree with her sometimes, but I always love watching her. She makes me wish Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert would do less joking and more news--after I watch her show, I feel like I'm not getting enough content from them. (Don't worry, I still love them. Jon Stewart's smackdown of Jim Cramer was a thing of beauty.)

* Oh, and I'm still listening to David Bowie. Ziggy Stardust remains my favorite, but I've added Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane, and Diamond Dogs to the lineup and am enjoying them all. I tried to listen to Scary Monsters on the advice of my friend Jason, but aside from "Ashes to Ashes" it just totally didn't work for me. I don't understand what happened to Bowie in the 80s. It's like he went from brilliant and hot and amazing to ... just ... so boring and annoying and straight. Maybe I'll understand it better if I take each album chronologically. Or it could just be the Bowie draws from the zeitgeist of the decade, and the 80s was ... well, the 80s.

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* x_los wrote Eighth Doctor/goosnake!Master. And it’s… actually kind of awesome? If you enjoy crackfic, I highly recommend it.

* I. Um. I think I want to see Twilight. I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW. But… it’s just… you know… Robert Pattinson is really really cute!

Apparently somewhere inside me there still lurks a twelve year old girl, whose Pretty!Boy!Vampire! alert has just been triggered. I will have to hide my face in shame and sneak into the theater hoping that no one I know will recognize me. Or at least claim that I’m there only to snark. :P

* I saw the new James Bond this weekend and was disappointed. I’m all for emotional continuity, but it didn’t feel like the movie really went anywhere. Nothing made a big impression, and I was mostly bored. Apparently I’m one of the three human beings on the planet who do not find Daniel Craig attractive, so without a compelling story there just wasn’t much to hold my interest. Casino Royale was so much better. :(

* I just read this book called The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, about a Jesuit expedition to Alpha Centauri (seriously). It was brilliantly written, but I didn’t love it.

( spoilers for The Sparrow and for the Lymond Chronicles (possibly offensive to religious types) )

Current Mood: tired emoticon

tired

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If you have any opportunity to see The Dark Knight in IMAX, go. It’s really just completely amazing; it feels like you’re in Gotham City.

( I liked it better the second time. )

I've been following the recent fannish wank with an increasing sense of WTF. I mean, first a crazy chick outs other fans in real life as an attention ploy, which, okay, at least she's getting the shunning she deserves.

Then "cult of nice" vs "cult of mean," round 4938394, which I can see both sides of, though I firmly believe fandom is a better place when we can talk openly about our reactions to a work, whether it's created by a professional or a fan. IMO it's more respectful to treat fanfiction as deserving of serious critical analysis (both positive and negative), and it's disrespectful to assume that all fic writers are speshul snowflakes who can't take anything but unreserved praise. And sometimes it's not about the writer at all; it's about the community being able to learn and grow and understand itself better through discussion and analysis of fanwork and fannish trends.

But now the SPN wank just has me boggled. Can someone in SPN please explain this to me? A bunch of fans of one of the actors started a campaign about him being retarded and illiterate? And they were surprised when his management sent them a C&D? And they're wanking about their hurt feelings? But they're his fans? And this is how they showed their fannishness? Why? I'm ... confused. Just ... incredibly confused.

Current Mood: confused emoticon

confused

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I had the most awesome Saturday. jaydk and I went to Philadelphia for Projekt Revolution.

( Good friends, yummy food, street fairs, Chris Cornell, and Linkin Park )

What else I've been up to:

( I liked The Dark Knight, but I didn't *love* it )

( I've been catching up on Due South )

( My Doctor Who fannish experience has been very Doctor/Master centric lately )

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I went to see Wanted last night.

( spoilers for Wanted )

Current Mood: disappointed emoticon

disappointed

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( I went to the 1am showing of Iron Man last night )

Current Mood: cheerful emoticon

cheerful

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In which jaydk came over and we:

* Watched The Sarah Jane Adventures “Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?” - by far the best SJA yet, so good it made me cry.

* Drank ridiculously good Vinho Verde.

* Watched “The Poison Sky” and were so pleased that it didn’t suck. Helen Raynor redeemed, yay! So good I’ll have to wait until tomorrow and post a proper review instead of a drunken rant.

* Drank a ridiculously good South African shiraz… super rich and chocolatey. I know it would help if I remembered the brands, but it’s 4am, sorry.

* Went to the 1am showing of Iron Man in digital projection at Union Square and it was fucking AWESOME, yay! I ::heart:: Robert Downey, Jr. so much.

* And snuck really good beer in–Blue Moon Summer Ale.

Proper reviews tomorrow or Monday… I’m totally going to pass out now. G’night!

Current Mood: drunk emoticon

drunk

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Here's what I've been up to lately:

* I went to an art auction benefit for the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. It was fun, except that it was in a yoga studio and everyone had to wander around barefoot. But the art was cool, there was a TON of free food and free alcohol, I got to hang out with Livi, Jessica, Anne, Ariela, and Patrick, and I won a raffle prize!

It's a really cool raffle prize, too--about $200 worth of fancy vegan lotions, body wash, shampoo, toothpaste, razors, toner, toothbrushes... every kind of thing you can imagine. It was so huge and heavy I couldn't even carry it home by myself. So now I won't have to buy lotion or shampoo for the next couple of years! (It was from United Foods which I guess is the distributor).

This marks the second raffle that I've won recently. (I also won a Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival t-shirt when I was in Iowa.) And I never win things. How random is that? They say this stuff happens in threes, so *knock on wood*.

* I dyed my hair wacky colors. It's a brighter red, with red-orange-blond streaks. Not sure I'll keep it; it might be too bright for me. But it *is* kind of summery.

* I hung out with Livi a lot. We ate Indian food, we ate Cuban food, we drank pina coladas, we went to a gay bar... it's been fun.

* I saw Spiderman III. It actually wasn't as bad as I expected. There were four things I liked:

( very vague Spiderman III spoilers )

* Voltaire continues to stalk me. I saw him coming out of a bank in the East Village; he glared at me. Last time, I saw him at the post office. Why won't he leave me alone??!!

* Um, seriously though, I'm never putting my number on Craiglist again. I got a really creepy crank call from some crying woman at 6am. People suck. (And the number it said it came from was my own--how do they do that?)

* I did find a roommate, though. She seems a little... overly detail-oriented. But she was good with the cats, which is the important thing. Cross your fingers for me.

* I played Sam & Max Hit the Road. Awesome classic LucasArts adventure game. I loved it. It's hilarious, especially all the dirty things coming out of the cute little rabbit's mouth. I can't believe they got away with marketing these games to kids.... And, seriously, I loved how well designed it was, and how brilliantly scripted the humor was.

* Now I'm playing Grim Fandango. So far, it's astounding. I'll post more when I finish.

* I watched the entire BBC Robin Hood series. I'm totally in love with Guy of Gisborne now. (I already babbled about that here.)

* I had nightmares for three weeks straight. Seriously. Ugh. Which is part of why I wasn't posting. But last night I finally had a cool dream. I had been playing Grim Fandango and watching Robin Hood, so I dreamed that I was playing Robin Hood. Like it was a game that I could control. So naturally I was playing Guy...! (I can't really remember what happened, but it was definitely fun.)

jaydk and I went to see the most insanely funny movie Saturday night: "Hot Fuzz."

Somehow I'd managed to avoid even hearing about this movie, but luckily

jaydk dragged me to it. It's been years since I've laughed so hard in a movie theater. It's from the same people behind "Shaun of the Dead," which is also a classic, but I liked "Hot Fuzz" better. It's basically a parody of the "buddy cop" genre, with an incredibly twisted sense of humor.

I do not want to spoil it, but I will point out some of the elements that were awesome, so that everyone who has missed it so far will be tempted to go see it:

( awesome things about Hot Fuzz, with minor spoilers )

Also, I got my ticket for "Pirates of the Caribbean 3"! It's coming out on Friday May 25, but for some reason they are showing it at 8pm on Thursday May 24. So we went across the street and bought our tickets in advance--I have them in my hand! "Pirates 3," here I come! I think we are also going to the midnight showing at the Ziegfeld immediately after. We need our "Pirates" fix! ;)

Current Music: alice in chains - what the hell have i?

I'm very grateful for the new remake of The Hitcher. Yeah, it looks like a dumb movie, but it's resulted in Sean Bean being on my TV every five minutes due to the incessant commercials. He's even in the subway in gigantic scary-looking ads! (Not that I find him scary; you know I'm totally going to be rooting for his character. How could the guy who played Sharpe really be bad?)

Also, OMG CUTE!!! (Photos of young Sean Bean.)

10zlaine visited this weekend. It was very last minute, so I wasn't terribly prepared, but we had a good time anyway. Mostly we hung out at my place and talked, while watching The Adventures of Brisco County Jr DVDs. (Damn, that show is classic.)

The point of the visit was for

10zlaine to collect one of Livi's kittens and bring him home with her. So we went to Livi's house last night, and

10zlaine fell in love with Otto (who greeted her by giving her hand a cat-bath with his tongue). Livi and Jessica made vegan taco-things, and then we hung out with the cats for hours. They are insanely playful at this age (about three months); my hands and arms are covered in little cat-scratches (which are totally worth it).

10zlaine brought this bouncy toy that got Marty to do insane flying leaps, like three feet in the air; you wouldn't imagine that such a little cat could jump so high. And then she gave them catnip, which drove them all even more insane. It was very fun.

10zlaine slept over at Livi's place and left early this morning; she's on the train right now going back to Maine, and has been sending me cell phone photos of Otto in his carrier and on her lap. It's really sad to think about him being separated from his brothers, but he's going to have an awesome life with

10zlaine and her cat and dog. (And I'm so jealous! She's got a fresh new kitten to take home with her!)

We also went to see Children of Men on Saturday night with

drujan (and then we had horrible drinks at this chain Mexican restaurant, because we were in the culinary wasteland that is Times Square). I thought Children of Men was a good movie, but I didn't actually enjoy watching it.

( Children of Men )

Current Mood: disturbed

Christmas has come early! It's Marsters wank! Here, here, here, and here.

I'm at least as amused by all the fangirls jumping to defend poor, misunderstood James as I am by the king of pretentious cluelessness, Marsters himself.

***

Last night's Sean Bean movie was A Woman's Guide to Adultery. I got through a half hour, then I had to fast forward and just watch the Sean Bean scenes. I don't know if I've ever seen a more annoying movie. My understanding of the plot is that a whole bunch of self-absorbed morons ramble on incessantly. Also, they cheat on their spouses and get punished for being awful people. But not even in a fun way, in a endless talky boring way.

On the plus side, Sean Bean was naked, and a major plot point was a photo of his ass that they kept showing. Yay! Also he was young and gorgeous and arrogant, which makes him extra hot. On the minus side, his haircut made my eyes burn. Mullets are not attractive. Ever. On anyone.

I should probably just stop on this Sean Bean marathon and watch "Extremely Dangerous," "Stormy Monday," and "Sharpe" a few more times instead. What's next in my Netflix queue? "Troy"? "North Country"? "Black Beauty"?? "Scarlett"??? Gaah!!! Help!!!!

***

I did take a break from Sean Bean movies and rented The Living Daylights, the first Timothy Dalton Bond movie. I actually liked this better than expected. Timothy Dalton was ahead of his time with a harder-edged Bond. He was pretty hot, too, but weird looking. The movie itself was okay, a product of its time with an AIDS-inspired monogamous Bond. It felt really dated, though, particularly with its Russian villains and Afghan heroes. But it was entertaining enough.

I'm trying not to panic about the fact that All About Spike and SuperVegan are both down, because it's some mysterious server issue and there's nothing I can do about it.

*deep breath*

*not panicking*

*rescinding all recommendations of Cybertarp hosting company*

Also, there is a meme:

Ask My Fandom Opinion

Ask me one fandom-related question in the comments. This can be fandom specific, general, or about fandom/lj stuff/fic writing/etc. in general.

Just one question, please, but it can (and perhaps should) have sub-parts.

I probably don't have any fandom opinions that my friends don't already know, but whatever, let's see if anyone feels like asking anything.

***

I watched "Sharpe's Revenge" last night. It's hard to enjoy that one; I just spend the whole thing cringing for Jane. ( babble about Sharpe's Revenge )

I also watched a bit of "Extremely Dangerous." Yes, I finally caved and bought the movie. I was ambivalent at first, but I kept wanting to watch it again, and finally just decided that I needed my own copy. I'm glad I did, as it makes me very happy. The story is interesting, the characters are complex, and Sean Bean is just so damn gorgeous. I like how it takes its time and thoroughly establishes all the characters, and I enjoy that it doesn't talk down to its audience (though I wish it had captions, since a bunch of important stuff gets mumbled quickly and almost incomprehensibly). I like that Sean Bean gets to play a complex character, showing off his scary and menacing side, but also his vulnerable, sympathetic side. I liked this review very much:

In Extremely Dangerous Bean is, does, or radiates something--I don't know what--that makes it so only his presence matters.... Unbelievable though it may sound, after you've watched him for hours, even seeing him play a few bars on the piano (though I suspect a stunt pianist's hands there) or taking out his contact lenses becomes erotic. D.A. Pennebaker was right when he said that watching somebody for hours through a camera is like falling in love with them--it's impossible to resist the power of such close scrutiny.

Also, I decided to join the modern era and convert my LJ to a S2 style. Then I got bored halfway through. So it kind of looks stupid, but I'll make it pretty eventually.

Current Mood: not panicking
Current Music: common rotation

Am I the only person in the world who doesn't think that Daniel Craig is hot? He looks ridiculously goofy, with funny little ears that stick out, and a weird round nose, and a bulky too-big ill-proportioned body on top of which his head looks tiny. Nothing hot there except maybe the eyes, which are at least a nice color.

He's a good actor, though, with depth and charisma and all that good stuff. The movie was great; sort of a "Batman Begins" for the Bond franchise. ( Casino Royale )

I also should note that anyone who enjoyed this movie/likes Bond in general should pick up a DVD of Sharpe's Eagle ($10.76 at Deep Discount DVD) which has both Daniel Craig (looking slightly hotter on account of being much younger) and Sean Bean (Bond's nemesis/slashy true love in "GoldenEye"). Plus it's also a good movie on its own merits.

( BPAL )

Tomorrow my parents are coming here and eating with me at Candle 79. It's probably the nicest vegan restaurant in NYC, so here's hoping my dad isn't too nasty about the food. I still can't believe they agreed to come up here and eat vegan with me. I guess it makes sense, though, because they're going on vacation the next day and can't have any leftovers, plus it's not like they have anyone else to have Thanksgiving with. It'll be my first Thanksgiving with family in four or five years. *fingers crossed*

Recent theater, film, & concerts

in which I ramble about White Collar, Farscape, and 3 movies that pass the Bechdel test

My Vampire Weekend

random

Doctor Who & The Man Who Fell to Earth

Labyrinth

GIP (+ rambling)

Random: Watchmen, Moonlight, Rachel Maddow, and why I can barely watch American TV these days

Movie Babble & Reaction to Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow

WTF, Fandom?

Projekt Revolution, The Dark Knight, Due South, and Doctor Who

I had the great misfortune to see “Wanted” last night

Iron Man

A Surprisingly Awesome Evening…

random stuff

Hot Fuzz and Pirates 3

Kittens! And "Children of Men"

Yay! Marsters Wank!

Repeat after me: There is no perfect hosting company

Bond, BPAL, Thanksgiving

rusty-halo.com

August 2018

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