sundries

[rm]

What healthcare reform does, or rather doesn't, mean for LGBTQ Americans.

UK B&B turns away gay couple. I LOVE staying in B&B's and have recently introduced Patty to the joys of it. But I worry about this EVERY TIME.

British kids think hacking is wrong. 25% of them have tried it anyway. I blame Spooks.

Last night we went to a restaurant we always go to, where I ordered what I always ordered, but alas, somehow the place decided that a satueed chicken breast should be dipped in flour first. I thought I was being paranoid, so ate half my meal, then realized I was having stabbing pains and am now dealing with gluten poisoning. Honestly, I got off easy as I did everything I could once I realized, but I still feel awful.

On an average day last week, I paged Patty three times. Obama paged her 6 - 10. I'm this close to writing an essay about how Obama thinks they are going to the movies together on Friday night or something.

White Collar fen: the difference between plane and plain. Learn it. Love it.

I was having an excellent conversation with neifile7 the other day somewhere where you can't see it, and we were talking about the thing where Torchwood fandom is all over White Collar and what that's about.

White Collar seems to be hitting something in people other than "pretty suits" and "lying liar who lies" and I suspect it's because we see Neal getting that hand-at-the-back mentoring from Peter that I think a decent number of the folks who identified with Ianto really wanted to see Ianto get from Jack (and we don't see it overtly, like we do in White Collar, we had to assume it, and for me, in that regard Ianto had very much arrived in terms of competence by the time of CoE, so I think maybe people didn't just lose the character, they lost the dynamic they both wanted and needed him for, hence the rage in some cases). So I think it's meeting that need for a benevolent but harsh taskmaster thing as gen or as kinky as the viewers want.

Peter makes Neal a finer thing. People _wanted_ Jack to make Ianto a finer thing, but whether he did (whether he tried, whether that was the dynamic there) is far more arguable.

That's what I'm seeing anyway, as someone who wasted a lot of their 20s wanting someone to make me a finer thing and then decided no one else was really worthy or capable of the job (I am not saying this desire is jejune, btw, I am saying this desire led me to be an idiot and didn't work for me; your storybook may vary).

And I didn't watch Torchwood through that lens (I saw Ianto as someone Jack (and others in the past) forced to learn to do such stuff for himself, fast, and I appreciated the relationship for that reason. I also didn't identify with Ianto, which is separate but tangental). Watching White Collar, however, gives me a nostalgia for the desires of my 20s. I recognize, very keenly the texture of the day-dreams it evokes for me.

Every time I try to plan a shooting excursion, EVERY TIME, there's some social conflict that makes it really, really impossible. *Cranky*

I'm feeling better and better (and more excited about) the new Doctor Who series and Eleven. I worried it was going to be somehow short on the epicness and the darkness (because I feel like a lot of people are happy to say goodbye to Ten because of said epicness and darkness). But I've been watching the new trailers and it makes me tear up in that way that the Whoniverse does and I think it's going to be AWESOME. Besides, the Moff totally brings the 51st-century, so even we don't get more Jack, we get Jack context. Also: I WILL BE IN THE UK WHEN THE NEW SERIES PREMIERES.

Comments

[pocketmouse]

I like White Collar because it reminds me a lot of Due South. For me, it's got absolutely nothing to do with Torchwood. Two entirely separate boats.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

...Huh. I had not made a connection between White Collar and due South, but now that you've pointed it out, yeah, I can see that.

[spiderine.livejournal.com]

Huh... that's interesting. I've been trying to write "White Collar" fic and I've been having ...er, let's call them "challenges" that are similar to those I'd found in writing "Due South" fic.

[pocketmouse]

Most people I know who were growing displeased with 10 were doing so because of the emoness and the self-congratulatory wankery. Epicness and darkness (especially darkness) has been a trademark of Doctor Who since at least the 4th Doctor, if not earlier. And I really doubt we'd lose either, with the Moff at the helm.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I'm still New Who only, so I've only known the RTD era, and have really, really, REALLY loved Ten (in spite of the fact that I think RTD has better concepts than execution on his season enders as a rule and didn't leave the Rose thing where he should have for maximum impact).

[natf.livejournal.com]

I still feel that Nine did dark better than Ten, much in the way that Simm!Master does/did it. Manic manaical darkness rather than emo angsty darkness. I also still moss Nine and although I grew to love Ten it took me most of his 'reign'.

[sinonmybody.livejournal.com]

Do you have the story of how you came to your diagnosis of Celiac written up anywhere? I remember reading something about it at some point, but I was wondering if you have it somewhere easily-linkable?

Also... any particular books you'd recommend for making the plunge to go gluten-free?

[rm.livejournal.com]

Short version, I got really sick, was sick for weeks and weeks. Doctor started by saying I had various infections, then couldn't figure it out said "maybe cancer" said "let's take your gall bladder out and see what happens," I flipped out, googled, found this disease and the 20 most common symptoms (I had 19) and the 20 most common things it was misdiagnosed as (I had 17) said "I think have this," stopped eating gluten, felt better in two days.

You really don't need a book. You can't eat gluten. You can't eat anything that has come into contact with gluten. You can't use a toaster glutinous bread has used. Gluten is contains in wheat, rye, barley, spelt. Oats are generally contaminated with gluten and some people with celiac also can't eat "clean, gluten-free oats" (that's trial and error). You can't have beer. You can only have wheat free soy-sauce, which means no soy sauce out EVER (hint, it's often in BBQ sauce and balsamic vinagrette dressing) unless there is an explicit gluten-free menu. Flour is often used as a thickener in soups and sauces, so ask questions. You can't eat food fried in the same oil as stuff with gluten, so if a place serve mozzarella sticks, no fries for you.

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

From the article, I'm having a hard time telling what was left out of the bill for LGBT folk. Is it just the data collection or is there something bigger that I'm missing?

[rm.livejournal.com]

I linked the wrong article, it has now been corrected.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

A nice summation of the healthcare bill - a good step forwards, definitley, but gays were definitely pushed aside on it

And this is why I don't use B&Bs they're cheaper and can be nice, but I don't want to stay in someone's home - and I have enough people judging and attacking me without leaving myself that vulnerable

[only-sound.livejournal.com]

Re: B&B's... these folks are all gay or gay-friendly and some even offer discounts for mentioning the site!

http://www.purpleroofs.com/

[delchi.livejournal.com]

Every time I try to plan a shooting excursion, EVERY TIME, there's some social conflict that makes it really, really impossible. *Cranky*

I was wondering why you never responded when I emailed you about heading to the range.

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

Ugh! Sorry to hear about the gluten poisoning. My mother-in-law has Celiac's disease, and eating out is often hard for her. Thankfully, she's never had any problems with a restaurant changing the recipe of something she could eat previously.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

I think as a Torchwood OT3'er, White Collar has obvious appeal there.

The other thing I like: the female characters are well-liked. If there's an El-hater community I don't EVEN want to know.

[rm.livejournal.com]

WORD. That's very refreshing.

[bugeyedmonster.livejournal.com]

Sending hug on the gluten mess. Hope it's out of your system now. My sister is highly allergic to milk. She has a lot trouble shopping at the regular grocery store and rarely goes out to eat. Milk and milk derivatives are in everything. (Margarine has some milk derivative or by product in it.)

I'm only very mildly allergic, thankfully. (To milk, I mean.)

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

That sounds like more than an allergy to lactose...?

[sunhawk.livejournal.com]

The B&B link doesn't appear to work for me? @_@

[rm.livejournal.com]

URL has been updated by the magazine and changed. You should be able to click now.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, you are making me ponder Neal and Peter in new lights :D

Okay, the following is all navel-gazing, but may prove relevant to you in some way or other given what you say about your 20s:

One of the great appeals of Ianto, for me, was that I'd lived parts of his timeline -- my life was very suddenly not what I expected it to be at the age of nineteen, and then I met an older mentor and we developed, over about three years, a very difficult-to-define educational and sexual relationship (fortunately I just graduated college rather than, you know, dying; we keep in touch). So you would think that I would be intensely attracted, in a character way, to Neal; identify with him, want to be him, want to write about him, especially given that what you say about Peter's mentorship is very true. But I don't, which is weird.

Maybe Neal is too heroic for me; I have a hard time casting myself as the outright hero. Or Neal is too grown-up; there's something less submissive but more needy in Ianto, it feels like. Neal is a prisoner but could still probably break free; Ianto isn't a prisoner but is pretty much out of options. I do find the Neal-Peter dynamic fascinating, so perhaps it's just that I've got some distance on it now. :D

Hmmm.

[rm.livejournal.com]

there's something less submissive but more needy in Ianto

Yes. This.

Neal isn't nearly as needy as he thinks he is.

I guess for me, and my deal with Ianto, is I see that character and I think, "I thought I was that guy, and it turns out I'm not." Jack resonates with me for, among other reasons, the fact that he had that sort of relationship with the Doctor and then had to suck it up and accept he can do it on his own and can give to others what wasn't quite given to him -- or at least try.

Neal has a sense of self-hatred and naivete I find very, very scary. He lies reflexively (Ianto, I think lied consciously, even about the small stuff).

Neal doesn't have a great sense of his own identity, I think. Whereas Ianto did. Every fucking moment.

Limited good news on the B&B front

[penguineggs.livejournal.com]

Police investigating as crime of discrimination

[heron61.livejournal.com]

I LOVE staying in B&B's and have recently introduced Patty to the joys of it. But I worry about this EVERY TIME.

*nods* Becca and Alice weren't turned away from a B&B in southern (rural) Oregon, but the manager started acting really hostile towards them after seeing them kiss once - fortunately, it all happened on the day they were leaving. Of course, the difference in the UK, is doing that sort of nonsense is a crime there. We could definitely use those sort of laws.

I'm feeling better and better (and more excited about) the new Doctor Who series and Eleven.

I trust Moffat well more than RTD, and the clips I've seen make me believe Moffat's claim that Matt Smith really was the best person they had trying out. I was dubious about Smith, but I'm pretty hopeful now.

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

On an average day last week, I paged Patty three times. Obama paged her 6 - 10. I'm this close to writing an essay about how Obama thinks they are going to the movies together on Friday night or something.

I mentioned this to a friend/coworker whose background is in sketch comedy and she nearly hurt herself laughing and acting something like it out.

Also: I WILL BE IN THE UK WHEN THE NEW SERIES PREMIERES.

I am not jealous. I AM NOT.

[rm.livejournal.com]

We have a long, long routine going on about how Obama is trying to get with her, and what does Michelle think and how Patty is leading Obama on and on and on and on and on. We just have to do something with it.

[lefaym.livejournal.com]

I suspect it's because we see Neal getting that hand-at-the-back mentoring from Peter that I think a decent number of the folks who identified with Ianto really wanted to see Ianto get from Jack (and we don't see it overtly, like we do in White Collar, we had to assume it, and for me, in that regard Ianto had very much arrived in terms of competence by the time of CoE, so I think maybe people didn't just lose the character, they lost the dynamic they both wanted and needed him for, hence the rage in some cases).

Yes, I think you are spot on here, though as we both already know, you and I disagree about whether or not Ianto achieved the sort of competence you're talking about (to me, the way Ianto died -- not only failing to save anyone, but causing the deaths of a whole heap of other people -- completely undermines any arc about the development of competence).

You also touch on how much we need to assume if we're to interpret the Jack/Ianto relationship in a particular way, and I think that's also an important point. I think one of the things that frustrates me most about Jack/Ianto, particularly its portrayal in CoE, is that although we may have canon snogging and canon shagging, as far as an emotional relationship between the two of them is concerned, we're still in the same position as we are with many non-canon slash pairings (although of course, with many non-canon pairings, there IS a highly developed emotional relationship that is used as the basis for speculating upon the nature of a romantic/sexual relationship between the characters).

For me, actually arriving at a place where I believe in that sort of mutual emotional relationship between Jack and Ianto just involves way too many mental backflips now; there's just too much that I need to both ignore and/or re-interpret in really tenuous ways. For me, imagining a poly relationship between Peter/El/Neal in White Collar (I really can't imagine El not being involved!) feels like far less of a stretch than a mutally caring emotional relationship between Jack and Ianto.

And I'm actually feeling very uncomfortable about that myself, because I see how easily what I'm saying could be taken as, "ostensibly straight characters can carry a queer narrative better than ostensibly queer characters do," and that is really really fucked up. I mean, obviously, I don't actually think that, but I can see how it could reinforce certain really damaging dynamics of privilege and heteronormativity regardless. It's difficult for me to tell how much of the fault is mine here (and I am willing to admit that the fault may be mine), and how much lies with the way J/I was written; if the writers really did intend for us to view J/I as a mutually affectionate couple, it feels to me like they were asking us to build a house of bricks out of straw.

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

I've never seen WC so I can't comment on the parallels, but in regards to your last point, I think the thing is, there is no single queer narrative that's going to work and be recognisable for everybody. There isn't a universal truth of queerness that can be captured on screen. For me, Jack and Ianto carried a queer narrative very well - but, it was a queer narrative about a pair of disfunctional fuck-ups with baggage up to their eyebrows, who couldn't really communicate their way out of a damp paper bag, who were still feeling their way around each other, who were great at fucking, great at being flippant, but really really bad at actually saying anything. I liked them very much because they felt like a two real people to me, and often queer couples on TV aren't made out of characters who feel like real people, they're just A Queer Couple, as though they come with a factory stamp.

On an individual level, I don't think you need feel bad at all if you prefer the way this other thing is framed, and find it more emotionally satisfying, but if you're going to make comparisions, I'd be wary of implying that it's necessarily about what's a better or more valid queer narrative rather than just one that works better for you, for what you need.

I'd also be aware you're not necessarily comparing like with like - a commonly slashed pairing and an actual canon queer pairing aren't occupying the same niche to start with, IMHO. Canon queer couples aren't under any obligation to be friendly to slashers, nor is their story required to be a love story. As it happens, I don't believe Jack and Ianto didn't love each other, and I don't believe the writers meant us to believe that, but even if they had meant that, that's not, in my eyes, a failure at queer narrative, that's just a different kind of story.

[neifile7.livejournal.com]

Sheesh, I'm sorry I missed out on the discussion earlier today. Really interested in what you and Sam had to say, especially.

I think you're right about the appeal of the Neal/Peter relationship to TW fen, at least in that there's something there about power and sharing it that many longed to see with J/I -- whether it's a mentor relationship or something else. I entirely agree that Peter makes Neal better in visible ways, whereas the ambiguity of whether Jack did that for Ianto was part of the allure of that relationship, at least for fic. But I do see Neal as someone who's still trying on identities like so many aliases, and whatever the denouement of the Kate storyline, it's apt to leave him not knowing who he is on some level, unless he invests more in the adult life that Peter's offering.

I do see both Neal and Ianto as preoccupied with self-fashioning in a way that I very much associate with being in my twenties, as well -- although Neal's sense of his own possibilities seems more expansive. Which may be part of the appeal of watching Peter try to rein him in, seeing him voluntarily submit; there's every possibility that he'll gain something more complex but less inchoate to call his own.

There isn't quite the same drive for me to write this as there was (still is) with TW, but like you, I want to worry at the El/Peter/Neal dynamic til I know how it works. It's very odd to enter a fandom with an instant OT3, I must say.

[msp-hacker.livejournal.com]

For me, Torchwood and White Collar call to two different sections. Torchwood is the cheesy sci-fi, and White Collar is procedural crack. The only thing that they have in common is that I like both shows and they have some fantastic looking clothing.

[coriander.livejournal.com]

Your new icon is just stunning! You have a wonderful glow - just had to tell you. :)