sundries

[rm]

lostin_thestars, who I know through therealljidol, needs your help. She's going through an ugly divorce (I'm somewhat understating the case as I believe she wants to keep some of the details I'm aware of private) and hasn't been receiving child-support. Some of her utilities have been turned off. She needs to fix her car so she can continue to work. She's having trouble feeding herself and her child. She needs $700 to fix the immediate crisis with the car.

She runs a Mary Kay business. Now would be a good time to purchase from her if you need anything. I can personally recommend the Velocity skincare line. Although it's designed for younger women, it's the only thing I've ever used that reduces the natural redness in my face _and_ doesn't make me break out.

If you would just like to send her a donation, her paypal is tessa.rawlinson@gmail.com

A child is the sole-survivor of a Libyan jet crash.

Doubt it cast on many food allergies. While I am all for better diagnoses and celiac disease isn't an allergy, wow, this is not an article someone like me needs, because it will be used as one more excuse to disregard my really unpleasant and serious illness by lay people and medical professionals alike.

You have perhaps not been following this ridiculous thing that's going on with Newsweek. Basically, the magazine published an article by an apparently gay journalist asserting that while straight actors can play believably gay, gay actors just don't have the skill to play believably straight; somehow, he says, it just always seems wrong. The creator of Glee and other celebs have subsequently called for a Newsweek boycott. Meanwhile, I'm still like "Newsweek, what in the hell were you thinking? And how is this news? And didn't you hear? Actors? The job, is to play pretend."

Meanwhile, there's a discussion as to whether the WSJ running an old photo of Supreme Court nominee Kagan playing softball was a coded lesbian reference.

I am experiencing low-grade panic about Bristol. Amusingly, however, I may - to prove a point about Holmes apocrypha - actually be referencing Sherlock Holmes for Dummies in the paper. Mostly though, this feels like academic paper as autopsy, and that's unpleasant for me right now.

In case you were following along on Twitter, no, I did not get food poisoning from an epically expired Larabar. But I can tell you that when they ferment they taste like licorice. Bet you always wanted to know that, huh?

Finally, Buffy is back from the dead and the only person she can talk to is Spike, since, you know, he's been dead too. So far, S6 is handling this really elegantly. It makes me want to talk a lot about the whole issue of what death is in Torchwood and how "Random Shoes" makes a liar out of Jack (or at least makes the show's cosmology a lot bigger than "something moving the dark").

Also, I haven't said this enough: Sarah Michelle Gellar can really act. It's not necessarily obvious as Buffy herself doesn't really show a huge range of emotions, but when you look at having to be Buffy, and BuffyBot, and delivering some monologues that could easily fall apart in their absurdity. She makes you believe. And that's a hell of a lot.

Comments

[svollga.livejournal.com]

I love S6 (though I can't watch some episodes for the second time because it's too dark in places). It handles the whole theme of 'the hero comes back from the dead' pretty well.

BTW, if you happen to be in the mood for some BtvS beta, gabrielleabelle has a lot of interesting stuff about the series, including it's feministic angle and metaphorical structure, especially for S6.

[ladyofthelog.livejournal.com]

Seconding the rec for gabrielleabelle's meta!

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

gay actors just don't have the skill to play believably straight. Somehow, it just always seems wrong

I know there are a zillion examples, but my immediate thought was, "Rock Hudson, anybody?" (also, I am old.)

Re: Buffy - I'm all excited you're getting close to the musical episode now. :)

[weirdquark]

but my immediate thought was, "Rock Hudson, anybody?" (also, I am old.)

Mine too. (I'm thirty-one, which is not that old, but I watched a lot of musicals and movies from that era growing up. When I was fourteen I overheard some of my classmates talking about how hot Tom Cruise was and was not able to put a face to the name at all, because I wasn't paying attention to actors in current movies back then. My pop culture awareness is possibly kind of non-standard.)

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

I always heard people say that the problem with Buffy was that SMG couldn't act. And then I watched it. I've got to say, I'm with you. And "The Body" was what actually cemented it for me though.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

Ugh i read that newsweek article and raged. It is an actor's JOB to play something he isn't. he was blaming the actor's for audience homophobia - because the audience just cannot cannot cannot look beyond the dreadful GAYYYYY!

Even reading his article it's clear he's talking about biographical knowledge of t5he actor rather than their actual performance by the examples he uses and the hindsight he refers to

Ugh justifying homophobia like that is sickening

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Oh the musical episode of Buffy is coming up! *excited*

A six-hundred-pound Chorago demon making like Yma Sumac – now, that one'll stay with you.

Oh and that openly gay actor item? That is so stupid it's just... stupid. Neil Patrick Harris? Hello. I also buy John Barrowman as straight when he does straight roles.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Shark Attack 3 is no reason to judge. ;)

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Well, Shark Attack. SWEET GOD what a reference!

Didn't want to say Desperate Housewives, but... Desperate Housewives.

Captain Jack macking on Rose, etc. No problemo believing this.

[rm.livejournal.com]

OMGOMGOMG your icon!

(Kali and I are working on Enough to Go By again, so I'm all OT3!!!!!)

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

You ARE?

That is the best news I've heard all week! I'm serious. That story has an epic start.

Sometimes I re-read the porn. NGL.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Right now they're fucking in India. Bristol has us a little crazy, but we're trying to get back to it.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Allriiiiiiight.

Ba-ding-dang. Awesome.

I have a lot of OT3 icons.

[scarlettgirl.livejournal.com]

The food allergy article was an interesting read although I do agree that it could add fuel to an already heated debate. However, I think clear terminology will only help in the long run. We've bandied about the term "allergy" so much that it is losing its power, which is dangerous. There is a huge debate in schools right now, with some backlash, on the prevalence of peanut allergies and how some parents are getting "hysterical" about sanitizing the environment. People need to understand the difference between "This will, at best, make you very ill and negatively impact your health or at worst kill you" vs. "This will give you a temporary reaction."

I'm an offender of the term myself. I was told by my Doctor after becoming horribly ill last week that I had an allergic reaction to sodium nitrate used to rinse commercially prepared salad greens. She didn't test me but instead went on my own personal history and narrative. After reading this I'm certain that I have an intolerance toward sodium nitrate since I can eat other foods which contain it with little or no reaction. So, while I did get sick, my health was never in danger, a luxury that someone with allergies or a food-realated disease doesn't have.

[jgcr.livejournal.com]

I agree with this. I'm dealing with preschool stuff now, and the various food-related hoodoo and misinformation is crazytown (not just allergy issues). The problem is that, in addition to being annoying (I can cope), I think it can have the effect of wearing folks down to the point where they might start taking the life-and-death allergies and other conditions (which very much do happen) less seriously.

I say this being somewhat freaked out after accidentally assuring a family that the cake we baked was 100% nut free and finding when we got home it was, in fact, not. Luckily, she's fine, no reaction, but ... yikes.

A possibly better way of saying this is that I want to do as good a job as possible protecting people (especially kids) from serious allergies and other food-related issues when I'm responsible for the food in any way, and filtering out some of the overblown stuff so I can concentrate on the rest will make that easier.

(I do not, of course, consider celiac disease overblown in any way.)

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

Yes, people's not-actually-an-allergy narratives can really threaten the lives of the seriously affected. A few years ago, a boy in Australia with a peanut allergy died after another parent (who didn't believe in his allergy!) sent their child to school with a peanut butter sandwich. There was then an accident with the boy's Epi-pen and he died. Most people's allergies are mild - to dusts, pollens, dander etc. - which I think leads to a dilution of understanding how serious they are.

[lauredhel.livejournal.com]

Some people really, really get their knickers in a twist about peanut-free rules. Something they don't realise, along with the sudden deadliness of many peanut allergies, is that a parent-driven peanut-free class or school can still be appropriate in the presence of a severe ingestion allergy but in the absence of contact allergy. To reduce the risk of bullying-murder via peanut products, which has a history. "You're allergic to this? Let's see! HAHAHA!" Which is _horrifying_.

I have no time for precious snowflake parents who say that their little sweetie will DIE if sie doesn't get a peanut butter sandwich for lunch every day, or that kids with allergies should be compulsorily homeschooled to protect their child's "right" to 24/7 peanut-snarfing.

[kel-reiley.livejournal.com]

SMG is really fantastic throughout the rest of the series, too (makes me wish she'd get another big part soon)

ok, random shoes is SO one of my favorite episodes, and i loved that it contradicted jack's (and all the other dead-ppl-brought-back) assurance that there's "nothing" or "just darkness" - it opened up the possibilites again, and where do we, as fic writers, live if not in those possibilities?

[(Anonymous)]

I'm just a lurker stopping in to say that while the WSJ's photo decision may indeed be a coded lesbian reference, softball is also a really, really common law school pasttime. EVERYONE plays softball.

Most people probably don't know that, though, so I'm sure it's also playing on the lesbian rumors.

[sethg]

The most positive spin I can put on the Newsweek essay is that Setoodeh, like just about every other gay man over the age of 30, is familiar with how gay men and lesbians in real life pretend to be straight; therefore, when he sees an actor who he knows to be gay playing a straight role, Setoodeh can’t help but look for “tells”, and of course if you put enough effort into looking for this kind of thing, then you’ll find it.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Which is all well and fine for Setoodeh, but the article remains irresponsible without the author providing context and without the editorial powers that be at Newsweek recognizing the lack of meaning/misleading meaning in the article without said context.

[xtricks.livejournal.com]

I don't agree re: the allergy article. Being able to accurately diganose illnesses, allergies and intolerances seems like a good thing -- and by refusing to look at the fact that some things we call allergies aren't actually allergies, we only make the entire spectrum more difficult to understand and treat.

I also am increasingly troubled by the food paranoia our culture is showing -- I think it's another sign of US society's inability to accurately asses risk.

[elisi]

Finally, Buffy is back from the dead and the only person she can talk to is Spike, since, you know, he's been dead too.
"I can be alone with you here." This speaks volumes.

So far, S6 is handling this really elegantly.
Oh S6. What I love about it is that it's so unflinching - I know a lot of people had a problem with this (it gets very dark), but I think the writers were incredibly brave to tackle the issues they did. (Although they definitely misjudged certain things that are still spoilery.)

Re. Sarah Michelle Gellar, then I always think of how the_royal_anna put it:

I know people have different opinions of SMG's performance of Buffy in Season 6. I think it's simply one of the definitive performances in recent TV history. I don't know that I've seen a better or more effective portrayal of emotional shut-down on screen. I saw the bubble-gum!Buffy of the unaired pilot not so long ago, and I see this, and I sit there in awe that any actress hired to do the one can pull off the other. It's a performance in which ennui and listlessness become more unbearable than tragedy, and for an actress who was always outstanding at showing us tragedy, that's something quite special.

And I need to re-watch 'Random Shoes' - thanks for reminding me. :)

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Part of me wonders if this Newsweek article is some crazy ploy at making them look appetizing to a potential buyer. I read that the magazine is going up on the block since it is losing money and circulation in massive quantities.

It also makes me wonder if that writer has ever, ever seen a movie made during the first fifty years of cinema and the days of the Code and blacklists and Red Scares. Insert disgruntled noise here.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

The weirdest part of that Newsweek article for me is that Setoodeh acknowledges the popularity of Neil Patrick Harris, who is equally convincing as horndog Barney on How I Met Your Mother and the would-be supervillain yearning after a cute girl in Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog, and then proceeds to argue that gay men can't play straight leads. I wonder if he did any number-crunching, or just started with a foregone conclusion and wrote to support it? Also, is he right to claim that the New York Times review of Sean Hayes's performance is coded, or is he projecting? It's not like homosexuality is the only possible explanation for the lack of sexual chemistry between an actor and actress.

[pocketmouse]

When I went through S1&2 of TW for the RPG to take detailed notes, it really struck me how different the post-death mythology was in Random Shoes, from all of the rest of it. Especially since it came right after Suzie's episode.

[eandh99.livejournal.com]

Random Shoes felt like an episode from another TV show entirely, filmed with the TW cast, and still does. When canon goes AU.

[pocketmouse]

They were obviously trying to mimic Love and Monsters, have an episode with an outside perspective, but they didn't really pull it off, yeah. I think it was good in terms of trying to show how they'd intended for Gwen to be the focus character, but everyone else's roles were kind of switched around. I think Tosh was diagnosing cause of death and Owen was off doing random shit with Ianto, and I couldn't tell if it was supposed to suggest unreliable narrator (had gotten details wrong and was recounting them incorrectly) or if it was just an early script from before roles got finalized and they never bothered to correct it.

[eandh99.livejournal.com]

I agree that Random Shoes is one of Gwen's best episodes - but the portrayal about death and afterlife is so contradictory to everything else in the series that it just jars me whenever I watch it.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I think the contradiction is actually really great, and it's a shame they never did more with it, because it implies among other things, that the things a person has to do working for Torchwood means Torchwood operatives don't get to have nice things -- at least in terms of the afterlife lottery.

[eandh99.livejournal.com]

Maybe - but I never got the impression that anyone but Eugene ever got this nicer afterlife. "We get hell, regular people get heaven" - might've been interesting to explore, though not really consistent with the overall atheist worldview and not especially original.

[rm.livejournal.com]

DW/TW stopped being consistent with an athiestic worldview long before "Random Shoes". "The Satan Pit" (which was the first Doctor Who episode I ever say), coming immediately to mind.

And since I've been watching AtS and BtVS -- as much as I love Torchwood, and I really, really do (and "Random Shoes" is one of my favorite episodes), original, not so much.

[eandh99.livejournal.com]

I found that TW had a more consistently atheistic perspective than DW, possibly just because it only had 2 series (or because Captain Jack wasn't as good a candidate for Lonely Suffering God!) though I did find the end of the first series, CJH and EoD strikingly close to the passion narrative in structure - temptation, betrayal, sacrificial death, delayed resurrection, ascension leaving the puzzled disciples behind.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah.... EoD is ... weird. I always wonder how much better or worse it would have been if the original plans for Ianto to have been written as very religious had been kept.

[pocketmouse]

I agree that it's contradictory, though I didn't find it particularly jarring, probably because I disliked other elements of the episode so much that that was a minor detail that took 'til a rewatching in order to notice the difference, especially coming on the heels of Suzie. I'm not on my computer with the notes, but I think I was wondering if it was a product of either the fact that everyone else we'd talked to back from the dead was brought back via the glove, and if that had anything to do with it. And considering what Owen finds there, it might...

[mobobocita.livejournal.com]

You might tell your friend to try Modestneeds.org. They are designed to stop a one time financial problem from ruining someone's life.

[lostin-thestars.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm visiting the site now.

[lostin-thestars.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I am not eligible for the grant, but I appreciate the linkage.
:) Thank you

[bare-bear.livejournal.com]

I want to send that food allergy article to my Grandmother. Because even though you do have a very valid point and it could make it difficult for those who actually do have allergies, I've watched my Grandma claim for years and years that she has all sorts of food allergies (which seem to change from month to month). If she feels tired after eating something, she'll blame it on a food allergy, not on the fact that she's almost 80 and shouldn't be running up and down the basement steps all day, or that all she's consumed all day is coffee and a couple crackers, or that she only got 3 hours sleep the night before. And while she may have some food allergies (although I have my doubts), she barely eats anything anymore because she's 'allergic to everything else'.

This sounds cold. I normally always believe people when they say they have a food allergy, because they know much better than I ever could on how their body works, and the consequences could be fatal if it's not taken seriously. And despite wanting to send her this article and challenge her claims, I never would because honestly, it makes her feel better and gives her something to complain about that isn't How I'm Living My Life. But I can see where the premise of this article comes from.

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

That kind of changed eating pattern is not uncommon among elderly people - while it can be just from slowly decreasing appetite and ability to taste, it can also be signs of depression, dementia or dry mouth (depending on her medications) and lead to what we call (in Australia) "tea and toast malnutrition". It can be a serious issue and her doctor and/or carers should be aware of it.

[bare-bear.livejournal.com]

That's very true. I do know that she has a good doctor who keeps track of things well for her. She also lives with her son who makes sure she eats more than crackers at least at dinner time, and I used to harp on her all the time when I lived there.

She's a stubborn woman. I'm pretty damn proud of her independence, mind, but it's frustrating as anything to watch. As you said, these could be very legitimate changes that she should acknowledge, but she refuses to admit that she is getting older and continues to blame food allergies.

Thank you for the information, though. Maybe I'll have a chat with my uncle next time I'm over to discuss this with him again. And maybe her, if she'll listen. :)

[laura47.livejournal.com]

oh, you're on to season 6 already? wow. Interested to see what you think about how this goes... I haven't rewatched it since I was writing a paper on it, and even then I stuck to only certain parts. It was so hard to watch the first time...

[snufflesdbear.livejournal.com]

Newsweek thing - I got into an argument over the weekend with someone at work. They were talking about the "cute old guy" that is on Desperate Housewives as a villain. I know they are VERY homophobic. I had to explain a few thing about JB to them. I had to! *innocent face* Their comment "there is no way he can be gay and play *whatever her name is* ex. THEY HAD A KID TOGETHER!" *rolls eyes*
I sent them to a few websites. And jut happened to have a pic of him and scott on my PDA from a website save. LOL!
Lie you said, actor's are paid to be someone else.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Also, JB as "old"? Really? Yikes. I think the fact that I'm not getting that makes _me_ old.

[snufflesdbear.livejournal.com]

Well, they think I am *ancient*. I'll be 48 this July. Granted, age-wise, I am kind of pushing it, woring bac-of-the-kitchen and all.
*sigh* When someone is not even out of high school, or still going to Career Center, I guess anyone over 25 is Old.
My main goal in life is to keep them on their toes. Their recent hiring of a kid who is openly gay-friendly as well, is helping. We are evil together. And I am helping him to be more vocal ;-)

[lefaym.livejournal.com]

What I love about Buffy's ressurection in S6, is that they acknowledge that Buffy's death was actually right for her in so many ways. I won't say more so as not to spoil you, but... well, S6 does a lot of things really well IMO.

[red-cortina.livejournal.com]

Hello, I'm very much with you on the food allergy article. My 18-month old son has an allergy to the protein in cows' milk and soya, which is apparently really common and children usually grow out of it by the time they're three or so. It brings him out in a rash, but we've been told that it could become more serious, like a peanut allergy, so obviously we're avoiding giving him food containing milk. But if we tell anyone about it, you can just see them thinking "yeah, right". They often demand how we know, and usually assume we mean lactose intolerance, and it's really frustrating. As if we'd invent an allergy so totally inconvenient! Even his grandparents didn't take it seriously until the paediatrician started talking about epi pens. I particularly like the idea of blind taste tests - because obviously at 6 months old my son must have thought, OK, this cereal contains milk powder, so I'm going to come out in a rash. Grrr!

[ekatarina.livejournal.com]

The scene where Spike sees Buffy, reaches out to her as she sits on th couch and Spike turns away from the Scoobies. That awakening, acknowledgment, action, and separation from the Scoobies, who love her but cannot understand this. Wow.

As for acting, SMG grew up on soaps and survived. So yeah, there are few episodes where she is phoning it in, but when she needs to pull out all the stops, she can.

Ekatarina