sundries + poll

[rm]

Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm and support for graduate_maria. I'll post periodic updates and let you know when the bidding is open. Also, if you've sent me a message with questions, I'll get back to you by end of day.

Internet powers activate. James Moran is looking for a soldier he met on a flight in 2006. You see, he owes the man a drink.

Safehouses for LGBT Iraqis have been raided, and those found tortured and often murdered. This has been going on for a while, and the allied forces there continue to ignore it.

The Queen returns to Wimbledon.

A swarm of bees is trying to break into a bank.

Last night on Angel Wesley dumped Lilah and I feel awful about it. But more than that, I'm like "the only reason the incredibly abrupt choices people make on this show are justifiable is because they are all remarkably mentally ill." Also, I feel like way too much of the narrative relies on jealousy both with Gunn/Fred/Wesley and with Angel/Cordy/Connor, and in the endless stuff RTD stole from this show, I'm glad he didn't steel that.

I'm way more of an Angel person than a Buffy person, but last night I was really glad to get back to Buffy. The wish girl in the closet was devastating, and D'Hofran's price was cleverly executed. I also liked that we returned to a bit of the musical episode with Anya singing. Is this what Glee is like? I don't feel like I'm interested, but do people burst into song?

Do you want to meet up with me in London? Poll/logistics under the cut.

[Poll #1583698]

Comments

[girlofavalon.livejournal.com]

The evening would be the best option for me :)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Evening is the only option for me as well. I just don't know what time people eat food or go to pubs in the UK. I rarely eat dinner before 8pm here, which is not normal for Americans, and I don't tend to get what's normal other places and such.

[girlofavalon.livejournal.com]

He he :) I have no idea what time people go to pubs in the UK either, I live in Brazil. I am only staying in London for a month. But I think 8pm is fine.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

Great, now I want Indian food. :(

tsarina, any recs?

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Sarovar on Burnet has pretty traditional foods that are tasty and delicious. It is probably my favorite over all.

Star of India on Anderson is also pretty tasty. Madras Pavillion is the place to go for vegetarian Indian food, I think.

The Clay Pit is a restaurant I love, even though it isn't classic Indian all the way. But the food is good and it is pretty and in a historic building and good for a nice meal out.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

<3

Thank you so much!

[sevendayloan.livejournal.com]

Ooh, you're on to "Selfless." That might be my favorite episode of season seven, honestly. I can't believe it took them that long to bust out and Anya-centric episode. Come on, writers, she's been in the opening credits since season four! But yeah, I thought it was a very powerful episode, and it was interesting to see that Anya's social difficulties didn't stem as much from being an ex-demon as her basic personality. She was always like that.

As for Angel, we lost Wolfram & Hart! Well, except for Lilah, of course. Poor bastards. I'd have watched a show that was just about the W&H lawyers, with Angel Investigations as the antagonists, honestly. They were always my favorites.

[austengirl.livejournal.com]

Wish I could meet up with you in London, but my work schedule is such that I can't do that or the Bristol conference. Boo.

People go to pubs from (roughly) the end of the work day until closing time, ie 11pm or later depending on whether or not the pub landlord has a late licence. 8pm is a fairly typical time to have dinner in most London restaurants, they would serve until at least 10.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Boo! Well, we'll be back in the fall, so maybe then!

And thanks, NYC is so odd about times....

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

Damn, such a near miss - I'll be there on the 16th. Maybe on your next trip. (Plus you and Patty should definitely take a weekend in Paris then!)

On FB, boosted signal on Moran's story, which I love. Glad you passed that one along.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Well maybe we'll get over to Paris in the fall, what with her in Cardiff and me over there and in Switzerland and various times. We'll see. Really close miss! Boo.

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

Apropos of nothing, my daughter has borrowed a corner of your brain. She's been using the term "awesome sauce" lately and talking about wanting us to get Plants vs. Zombies. Plus, she thinks we should visit you. It maybe be the cat or the fact that Patti's an archeologist. 11 year olds are awesome!

[rm.livejournal.com]

That is awesome! And we love kids, so if you're ever around, we're happy to hang with you and an 11-year-old. And if there was ever a game for a geeky kid, Plants vs. Zombies is it.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

I am curious as to why you prefer Angel to Buffy.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Despite what Buffy argues about its characters, they are relatively cool kids -- not outcasts. They are attractive, have friends, befriend others, are looked up to and conquer bullies. Framing them as the outcasts, much as the Harry Potter books tries to frame Harry, Ron and Hermione that way aggravates me. I was an outcast in school and it wasn't like that. People like these "good guys" were the types of people who were cruel to me -- not just the Cordy and Harmony types. So for me, the show is founded on a lie that demands an identification I don't feel.

I'm also much more interested in grey loyalties and choices. Angel goes there. Buffy doesn't.

Additionally, I prefer arc's to individual eps. Angel is all arc. Buffy's arc is sporadic.

[chaos-by-design.livejournal.com]

Despite what Buffy argues about its characters, they are relatively cool kids -- not outcasts. They are attractive, have friends, befriend others, are looked up to and conquer bullies. Framing them as the outcasts, much as the Harry Potter books tries to frame Harry, Ron and Hermione that way aggravates me. I was an outcast in school and it wasn't like that. People like these "good guys" were the types of people who were cruel to me -- not just the Cordy and Harmony types. So for me, the show is founded on a lie that demands an identification I don't feel.

Oh my god. You just completely nailed something that's been niggling me for a very long time. This is so true.

[lefaym.livejournal.com]

much as the Harry Potter books tries to frame Harry, Ron and Hermione that way aggravates me. I was an outcast in school and it wasn't like that.

Yes, very true. Yet, the way that Rowling writes Luna, Neville and Snape makes me believe that she DOES know what it's like to be outcast. A whole bunch of the stuff with Luna, in particular, hits me on a very visceral level.

I agree that Angel deals with grey areas a lot more than Buffy, but arc-wise I think it gets very shaky at the end of S3 and throughout S4. I especially don't like that after all of Cordelia's character development, they decided to do the "in love with Angel" thing, as though being paired up with Angel, with whom she could only ever take second place to Buffy, was some sort of "reward" for becoming awesome. I also think that Buffy does a better job with it's female characters in general, so overall, I like Buffy better. (Which isn't to say I think you're wrong for preferring Angel -- I'm just rambling.)

[laufeyette.livejournal.com]

Selfless is my favorite episode of Buffy ever, and it always trips me out to think it took them almost seven years to give me that. I don't think there's anything I don't like about it (except maybe the quick brush off of the "Kick his ass." "I never said that!" moment - god, I hate Xander). The quick cuts and random musical number and Aud!Anya... *happy sigh*

Season four is where Angel fell apart for me. I had such hopes for the Connor story arc, too. Season five was a glorious resurrection, so having it canceled mid-season was just a gut-punch. I'm still bitter, can you tell?

[lefaym.livejournal.com]

One thing I love about that episode is that Buffy discovers the lie Xander told all the way back in S2, re: what Willow wanted Buffy to do to Angel. Brilliant piece of continuity there.

Also, Anya is great. I love her S7 arc.

[coneyislandbaby]

Yes, Glee characters do burst into song, it is very much in the style of a musical movie and the musical episodes of other shows I've seen (I can't remember the Buffy one very well). I can't entirely rec it for many reasons (I love it, but I understand the problems people have with it and respect them) but yes, that is what it's like.