sundries

[rm]

Well, not being here was interesting. Eventually I stopped having itchy fingers.

Sundries, since last we all spoke:

- gluten-free chicken and beef mini-tacos from Trader Joe's are AMAZING.

- I also bought some prepared chipolte chicken from there, which I had a few weeks ago. This time I noticed on the label that it contains soy sauce that contains wheat, but I didn't get sick from it last time. I know that means my intestines have healed and I have a margin of error now and I know that I should also never have wheat because of what it does to my mood, neural functioning, congnitive abilities, balance and cancer risk. But that's not a lot of wheat, so I'm sort of thinking of saying fuck it, and never doing it again.

- The problem with my second HP book on Amazon will be fixed on Monday. There is more news there, but it is not for revealing yet.

- Went to the Met with Kali and solved the horrible things on our novel we couldn't solve. I feel much better about that. We've also talked a little bit about the problem of writing and schedules.

- Realized I am totally pessimistic and angry about what increasingly seems like a grad school rejection to me. But I found out there are MFA writing programs at several other CUNY's eventhough I couldn't turn them up on goggle, so if I don't get in this year, I'll reapply next year to this one and those. It will be okay. I am assiduously not examining the complexities of why I want to be able to teach. They are obvious and perhaps even quaint.

- This is a fascinating piece of writing: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/opinion/20cohen.html
How do you remember a lost world when it was hateful and evil and wrong, but it was also your childhood and sometimes seemed beautiful? Of course, the piece isn't about that at all, but as a writer reading it, that was the technical question I found in it.

- Spent most of the day listening to Last.fm and it was a day of the awesome 80s there. I'd forgotten how striking and unsettling Bauhaus was when they were being uplifting. We love our audience!

- Have I mentioned how good those minitacos are?

- I watched two more Torchwoods the other day: "They Keep Killing Suzie" and "Random Shoes." They Keep Killing Suzie was great in concept and thought, less exciting in execution, but it was nice to see Indira Varma back and "you're getting shot in the head, very slowly" will stay with me for a very long time. "Random Shoes" made me cry and cry and cry. It could have sucked nd merely been wacky, but it was smart and funny and was like a love letter to fandom from the serene parts of American Beauty. I loved it, but I will also grant that there are convoluted reasons it might be more moving to me than the average person. But I loved it. But: Ianto/Jack -- well that came out of nowhere in that episode. LIke I'm totally into Ianto/Jack, I get Ianto/Jack, but we're never given any reason this shit is going on, are we? That's a little irksome. Talk to me about these episodes, people, they fucked me up.

- marta contacted me to let me know that discussion has/is occuring on my feeling that donations to organizations that support the things maligned in the top-100 interests fiasco. No, I don't know any more than that, but it was kind of her to say so, and at least things we are saying in comments are getting to someone other than just her (since I assume she was not talking to a wall).

- Things I hate: the New York Lottery "Little Bit of Luck" campaign.

- Two more nights and then Patty's back (for three days before she has to travel again; our lives are crazy).

Comments

[chaos-by-design.livejournal.com]

The Jack/Ianto ship came out of nowhere for me too, and I felt like I missed a memo with that one. On the shallow side, I enjoy watching them make out as much as the next horny chick.

Which episodes have you seen? "They Keep Killing Suzie" was really fucked up; "Random Shoes" I didn't really care for too much. I have a bizarre love for "Countrycide".

[rm.livejournal.com]

I really liked Countrycide too.

I've been going in order for season 1, and I'm spoiled as hell for both seasons, so no need to be careful.

I feel like I've seen tidbits of Jack/Ianto, but I wanted to see them hook up or something that was a segue between the Cyberwoman clusterfuck in which I felt like Jack sorta of had a thing for Ianto without Ianto knowing and this. Like, does their thing pre-date Cyberwoman or is it a reaction to it? What's up with that shit?

[chaos-by-design.livejournal.com]

Well, I just saw the episode which has flashbacks to how they all joined Torchwood, and let's just say that Ianto was somewhat flirtatious with Jack from the beginning, although I think that was part of his trying to worm his way into the institution so he could take care of Lisa.

I agree, I really felt like there was a story missing between Ianto calling Jack a monster and saying he'd be glad to watch him die and Ianto and Jack flirting over a stopwatch.

Countrycide was just *so* dark that I loved it, especially the fact that the "monsters" weren't aliens at all, but just regular humans. It makes the deeply cynical part of me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Also Ianot and Jack weren't just flirting, they were planning to go screw as far as I could tell, so when the hell did they hook up?

I liked Countrycide because it also showed us that Ianto, who often seems submissive or fragile is tough as fucking nails. He's what he choose to be, and I think it's important to the development of the character. I also liked that we got some of the aftermath of everyone trying to porcess what the fuck happened out there. I thought that was important and humanizing.

[chaos-by-design.livejournal.com]

I'd love to find a good fanfic explaining how they got together.

Re: Ianto being as tough as nails; oh definitely. The quiet teaboy persona is just that, a persona.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I think it's a persona he takes really seriously, because I feel like it's a gomcoft to him as much as anyone else, but I feel like he's infinitely smarter about it than anyone around him.

[nickelchief.livejournal.com]

For an embarrassingly long period of my teenage years I thought they were screaming we love our onions.

[rm.livejournal.com]

AWESOME!

[chaos-by-design.livejournal.com]

Gomcroft? (I don't know what that word means, and google was less than helpful.)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Weird typo of the year.

comfort.

And now I can't edit it! Damn it!

[chaos-by-design.livejournal.com]

D'oh!

I always took it as his particular way of being sneaky; to use the element of surprise by conditioning people not to expect certain things of him. And then he smiles as he head-butts you.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Well that too. He's incredibly conniviing, but I would argue that's organic to being able to have that sort of persona. I've got a long post brewing about the differences between acquiescing and submitting and how knowing stuff just akes people conniving, but I have no time!

good word though

[radiantfracture]

Gomcroft: to pretend to be a slighter person than you are, although you know and everyone else knows you are not, because it gives you all a margin to fall back on.

Sort of camp but quieter.

{rf}

Re: good word though

[rm.livejournal.com]

I like when my typos are oddly sweet. Thank you.

[haste.livejournal.com]

I despise that "Little Bit of Luck" campaign, as well. The little man with his giant head scares and annoys the hell out of me.

[phaenix-ash.livejournal.com]

How do you remember a lost world when it was hateful and evil and wrong, but it was also your childhood and sometimes seemed beautiful?

oh god, what a question.

[cookie-cm.livejournal.com]

I have been on the Obama-Clinton fence up until reading the article that you have shared here - thank you. It's very lovely how thoughts of others string out and along to influence others. Especially when no one is trying to do so, but simply living their ideas.

Also, the Mandela quote is my new mantra - thanks again!

[rm.livejournal.com]

I think it's sort of the fundamental question in my fiction, and I was just stunned to see it as a fundamental question in non-fiction. I thougth that brief piece was really challenging and really transmitted the inner conflict.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Sure thing. It's technically one of my favorite things I've read in a long time (the specificity! the transmission of the conflict -- we see beauty and are appalled by it -- he makes his sin ours and then redeems us.)