sundries

[rm]

We will be meeting Claudette and several other potential cats on Sunday.

We have now watched Buffy S2 through "Lie to Me," which was really exceptionally written. It's also, I felt, the first time we started to see that the guy playing Angel can actually act (not his fault, it's just they haven't given him much to do other than be hot and mysterious so far and he doesn't even float my boat that way). Drusilla might even be starting to be interesting to me (fragile and crazy is so not my interest; Spike trying not to lose patience with her, much more interesting).

So, going back a few eps (skipping over that shit with the frat boys and the snake demon that wanted to be about rape but couldn't be so was just sorta dumb), er, Ethan? That was over the top much, yeah? I mean, I even Torchwood never gets that campy (okay, maybe Billis does), which is saying something. So now I'm all like, okay, Ethan is the ex-bf and technopagan chick is like the first woman Giles has ever dated or what?

I am really worn out from the headshots yesterday. Like deep, deep in my soul worn out.

The fact that #demonsheep was a trending Twitter topic yesterday was excellent.

Looks like NYC is mostly dodging this. But yoiks.

This little drama going on at Macquarie Bank is annoying the crap outta me. This is not a "political correctness" issue. This is a corporate policy issue, plain and fucking simple. Problems here include: 1. not doing job at time, 2. misusing company resources, 3. creating a hostile work environment (I don't know what the Aussie laws are on this sort of thing), 4. having an negative impact on the corporate image. This is not about evil ballbusting feminists. This is about someone doing something foolish and getting busted in a truly surreal way.

Some persistant vegetative states might not be.

Here's an ENDA-related petition. It only has 34 signatories so far. I know... petitions... what's it going to do, but sometimes they are useful for news stories and getting mroe PR to a cause, so if you're inclined, please make that number go up.

Obama continues to feel his way about channeling his inner Jed Barlet. I've certainly enjoyed him calling out the Republicans and many Democrats on not being willing to just do their jobs out of fear of keeping their jobs. And him mentioning the Uganda thing and the bullshit about his own citizenship at the National Prayer Breakfast, but here's a newsflash (one Obama certainly has not quite gotten): opposing equal marriage rights is, in fact, targeting gays and lesbians; it systematically defines LGBTQ persons as lesser, incapable of love and undeserved of financial and legal protections. Yes, it's fucked up this shit hinges on marriage, but one idea at a time.

Meanwhile, as an aside, I'm sort of totally sick of this "debate" we're all having about gay rights, whether it's marriage or DADT or ENDA or whatever. As if it's reasonable to be having a debate about it. It's not. You can spew your bigotry anywhere you want, but I don't have to actually engage it as if is speech with the same level of value or reasonableness as that which is pro-equality.

Okay, maybe this approach will inspire me. I'm working on conference proposals. Assuming you care, what sort of things about the wonderful world of Harry Potter that I haven't talked about before, would you like to see me present on?

Gmail -- sucking rocks today or what?

Comments

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Gmail -- sucking rocks today or what?

Not been a problem today for me, but I've had some other technical difficulties today. *grumble*

[rm.livejournal.com]

Maybe the entire Internet is broken.

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

I haven't noticed any gmail problems, but I am amused greatly by the concept of sucking rocks.

[ciel-vert.livejournal.com]

Okay good, I thought I was the only one having gmail problems! Well, it's not "good", but I'm glad it's not just me.

[glinda-w.livejournal.com]

Gmail's fine for me right now; LJ hasn't let me post pictures for two days now (either by linking to Flickr or by direct upload. *grrrrr*

Petition signed.

Thank ghods my friends aren't bigoted; some acquaintances have at least stopped making anti-GLBT comments around me when I've told them that one's sexual orientation is no more a choice than one's skin color, and would you say those same things about a black, or an asian, or a Native American, or... May not have changed anyone's attitude, but at least their behavior around me is better. (Gah. hot button here, apparently, I'm starting to rant...)

[tdanaher.livejournal.com]

My Gmail (and there sure is a lot of it) is behaving normally. It's a marvel to see a message I've sent get filtered and put into its assigned folder before it's even been fully sent.

[marcmagus]

Do you think Obama tried to make a pun out of his reference to the Tower of Babel, or that Jeff Zeleny has never heard of it?

"This erosion of civility in the public square sews division and cynicism among our citizens." is making me think it's the latter...

</compulsive nit picker>

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

"Lie to Me" always stuck out in my memory as the first really good episode.

Was Ethan campy? I... actually can't even remember what he did on the show anymore. I just remember sorting through reams of Giles/Ethan slash back in the day.

It's also, I felt, the first time we started to see that the guy playing Angel can actually act

You're far more generous to him than I was! He's good at creepy darkness and goofy humor, but I thought he had all the personality of a rock during that broody hunk thing they stuck him with in early BtVS. He's way better in late season two and in his own show.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Here's a Potter topic that fascinates me-- maybe you'll find something there to be interested in.

Almost every institution in the Potterverse is corrupt and/or incompetent. I think of Hogwarts as kind of half-assed, but the media and the government are a lot worse. The exceptions are the goblin bank and the competency tests-- everyone trusts them, and the trust seems to be well-founded.

What works in the wizarding world is loyalty between individuals in very small groups.

This gives a very different feel than LOTR, in which some large institutions are

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Signed the ENDA petition. (Only 45th. Sigh.)

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

That winter storm? It's heading my way. I was supposed to have a hysteroscopy tomorrow, but that storm scared me into rescheduling.

Season 2 is my favorite Buffy season. These episodes you're watching are what made me a fan back in the '90s, so please keep posting about them.

[beeker121.livejournal.com]

The graveyard scene with Giles and Buffy at the end of "Lie to Me" is easily in my top five Buffy moments from all seven seasons. It's fun to read about you discovering the show.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

"School hard" was the first Buffy ep I saw. You'll enjoy it, I think.

So now I'm all like, okay, Ethan is the ex-bf and technopagan chick is like the first woman Giles has ever dated or what?

No, no. Giles is omnisexual once you get him out of the tweed. But Ethan is DEFINITELY the ex-bf. They parted over religious differences (not political ones like Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr). Just wait until Band Candy...

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Goblin banking! There's piles of weird financial things in the series but the whole goblin banking system is a walnut of of weirdness.

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

Angel did start very bland, but I think David Boreanaz really rises to the kind of material they gave him as his character developed. I admit I never really really warmed to him in Buffy - in fact, I can pinpoint the first moment I absolutely fell in love with the character, and it's an Angel moment - but in retrospect the groundwork is there. I never really felt the chemistry between him and Buffy, to be honest, it always felt a bit forced, and since that was his main job at first, it didn't really do him any favours in my eyes. I like their relationship retrospectively as a phase they both went through and then grew beyond, but it never felt like it ought to a keeper to me.

Giles/Ethan is... another one of those Jossverse things that probably did indeed happen. I'd love to hear Joss's thoughts on it actually, I don't think he's ever said, but he's usually really good about making stuff canon by Word of God.

[kshandra]

Obama continues to feel his way about channeling his inner Jed Barlet.

Here, have an icon. ;-)

[gement.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'd never thought about it before, but he is a well dressed, suave man running a costume shop. Who then gets into violent "how nice to see you again" situations with our local closeted* librarian.

There's just maybe a little tiny bit of subtext you could read into that, yeah.

* I use this term in the general sense. Giles is so clearly keeping big closets full of all kinds of things, whether they're sexual or not. His entire JOB is being undercover.

Lie to Me is tasty on an ethical storytelling level, and also lets Angel start mocking the So Serious Vampire thing a little more often.

[sethg]

How does the wizarding world manage to have an economy without fractional-reserve banking? Do the goblins manage shell corporations in the Muggle world and then buy gold with their profits?

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

My gmail was sucking rocks earlier too. :p

[stephl.livejournal.com]

We have now watched Buffy S2 through "Lie to Me," which was really exceptionally written.

S2 gets really good. It has a couple of episodes that are among the best hours of television I've seen.

But yeah, the giant-snake-worshipping frat boys episode was pretty bad.

[beccaelizabeth]

I've not read Joss saying anything, but Jane Espenson says G/E was so, back in the day, and she wrote one of their episodes.

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

We just rewatched "School Hard" (Spike's first appearance) and "Halloween" last night.

Ethan is seriously OTT but kind of delightful. I love it when Giles lets loose his inner "Ripper".

I love "Lie to Me".

I think the thing with Jenny is that Giles doesn't know how to deal with dating as a grown-up, especially with a colleague. He's still trying to figure out being a Watcher, not to mention having a truly unique Slayer, who has a whole back up squad, helping. He's really out of his element in so many ways.

Shall I flap my arms a bit more so the butterfly effect will kick in, and y'all will get some snow, too? ;-p I did the major shopping I needed today (I hate it when my regular shopping coincides with a weather incident), so we're actually good to go. I'm sort of bummed that even the low key birthday plans for Sat. (I turn 41 and my husband turns 40) have been snow squashed. I'm not too hopeful for the dance workshop in Newark, DE (also in the mega snow band), so really this weekend is looking like a total wash. At least next weekend we'll be in NYC!

[elionwyr.livejournal.com]

I had a really hard time getting into crazy-helpless-Drucilla. She does get better (well - ok, that's relative) as the show progresses, and yeah..Buffy-Angel never quite worked for me. But maybe I'm spoiled by not having started at the beginning. I definitely prefer Angel overall.

ETA: I should say, I have always felt like Buffy suffers from not really letting Buffy grow up for a torturously long time (IMHO), while Angel started off as a much more adult show.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Ethan is *clearly* Giles' ex-boyfriend. There's plenty of fic about it.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

I can't see goblins ever authorizing subprime mortgages, or selling futures.

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

Oh bless her. I knew she was my favourite writer for a reason.

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

I so LOVE JE!!! It seems she was behind many of my favorite Buffy eps (though not Fool For Love) and Firefly eps (Shindig skewers butt! ;-p)

[firefly124.livejournal.com]

So now I'm all like, okay, Ethan is the ex-bf and technopagan chick is like the first woman Giles has ever dated or what?

Well, Ethan is almost certainly the ex-bf. Jenny may or may not be the first woman he's *ever* dated, but he's certainly as awkward as if that's true.

[introductory.livejournal.com]

Back in 2006, researchers got a vegetative woman to respond to questions by imagining playing tennis. Wonder what was new this time around . . .

[nobodyreally.livejournal.com]

So is it:
Buffy is to Angel as Doctor Who is to Torchwood?

Also, just because in a battle between porn and plot, we cannot let plot win:
Help synecdochic figure out what to write...

[misch.livejournal.com]

I saw this on Lifehacker today and thought of you, since you travel a lot.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

what sort of things about the wonderful world of Harry Potter that I haven't talked about before, would you like to see me present on?

Religion. Through the story we see ghosts, the paintings of people who have passed on, Harry dying and meeting Dumbledore ... and then at the holidays there is a Christmas tree! No other symbols associated to religion are seen or talked about ... do they know something that the muggles don't?

[redfiona99.livejournal.com]

Lie To Me is still, however many years on, my favourite Buffy episode. And you're totally right about Angel becoming far more interesting once they give him something to do other than be tall, dark and brooding.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

On the debate: yes.

This is a similar thing i said about the torture debate. Why is this a debate? Why are we treating the anti-gay rights side (or, because then, the pro-torture side) as reasonable? Why are we treating this like a legitimate psoition? Why aren't we treating them like bigots on the lunatic fringe?!

Why are we DISCUSSING this?! Why does it need to be discussed? Why is it being treated as a balanced exchange of reasonable views? It's like when the BBC posted their damn poll - WHY is homophobia given legitimacy?