sundries

[rm]

Really tired and still catching up on sleep from Dragon*Con. I remain impressed by Patty's comps diligence and know I babbled at her quite oddly when she came to bed last night and I was more or less asleep. Ah well. Only a few more days of this.

Meanwhile, I am trying to solve our cruise drama for April; it's a long story that I thought I had solved and then a sailing we want is sold out and the timing is complicated. So I suspect the next cruise will be 2012 for us, and that in April of 2011, we're either going to do one of the two domestic trips we've talked about or just choose an island and go there for a week. We loved Bonaire, and there are a few places we haven't been that we'll probably consider too. I dunno; if you have recommendations about islands, resorts and the like, please let us know since It's probably not the right time for us to go to Sydney (not the warmest for them), which is a shame, as I want a room in the Altamont right now.

In case you missed it last night, bifemmefatale's 16-year-old daughter has run away from home. If you're in the Illinois area and could keep an eye out that would be good. If you could also not be an asshole or a concern troll (i.e., telling her to go to one of the places it is suspected Morgan might be heading to in order to understand - right now the priority is finding an underage girl who may need help; the Internet can be a part of this. But Morgan is not the Internet's kid, and this sort of stuff is NOT helpful right now; useful advice from folks that work with runaways and street kids is a different matter).

rarelylynne is participating in the DeKalb County Wheel-a-Thon to raise money for disability services in her area. If you're interested in helping, you can visit her journal where she writes more about the event and her fundraising team, Team Caitlin (named after her daughter).

Hey, sihaya09 is facing some MASSIVE vet bills for a lovely cat that is having some hardcore neurological/spine issues. Luckily, sihaya09 is an AWESOME artist and runs a cool etsy shop. If you're looking for something for you or yours, you might wish to check out her wares.

Hero rats search out landmines in Africa. The rats are too light to trip the mines themselves, so only one has died in the field, and that was a result of a car crash.

Religious leaders of several faiths have gathered to condemn the sharp rise in religious intolerance directed at Muslims.

Iran has suspended the sentence of a woman slated to be executed by stoning for an adultery conviction.

Students protest the forced resignation of a lesbian dean at a Catholic college after she married her partner.

After the media apocalypse, stories survive as patchwork quilts. This is an amazing art exhibit. Quilts as storytelling mechanisms are nothing new; quilts as a future mechanism of telling our current stories when they are near lost, however, is an amazing idea.

Said to tsarina at Dragon*Con: "You know, after Children of Earth happened I asked what it would take to remember Ianto for a thousand years, and you know, people wrote fic if they saw me say that or not, but that wasn't what I meant. No one got it. I meant, if this story means so much to us all, let's sit around and speculate on the process by which narrative becomes remembered outside of its pop-culture moment and, eventually, becomes myth. How do we make that story survive? How do we force those characters to keep their promises?"

These quilts make me think of that discussion I never really got to have. Link via shadesong.

Last night on White Collar: So, the Mozzie rage is out in force. I don't think we could possibly get Ianto-esque mourning here, but the rage if he's really dead could be pretty epic. I've already seen a lot of range towards the writers that was expressed pretty inappropriately.

That said, I'd be surprised if Mozzie is dead. It would really change the character of the show into something darker and more serious. If the show is taking that step, I'm thrilled and excited (although I don't know that it needed to happen at Mozzie's expense), but I'd be surprised.

The lead up to Neal crashing through that window? Filmed like a tango scene in a classic Hollywood musical in terms of pacing, camera angles, body language, and multiple parties. I was sort of jumping up and down and wanting to rant about Baz Luhrmann (seriously, if you have not seen his explanation of tango in film that talks about the four horsemen of the apocalypse you are missing some awesome movie trivia; it's somewhere in the goodies in the Red Curtain box set). Gorgeous work.

Also loved: creepy taxidermied squirrel and tracker anklet on the pug.

And! This is no longer really about Kate's death, but solving a bigger mystery. I'm so fucking grateful, because shit, I am so over Kate.

You know, when I started watching this show everyone said it was so slashy and so D/s-y and I've been a bit "well that's nice, but fuck you and your subtext" about it. The last couple of weeks (and I talked about this a lot last week too), I've just been left somewhat puzzled, because here's this situation where, no, Peter and Neal aren't fucking in canon, and yet their relationship is highly sexualized because the way they do their power dynamics are all about dominance challenges and that is, to some degree in our culture, unavoidably about sex.

And this episode only underscored that. Pretty much everything Peter said to Neal in this episode could be replaced with "Do I own you, or do I not own you, because if I do, you need to make a goddamn choice." And when Neal chooses, we then get a public show, not just of him being shamed by Peter, but of Neal instinctively feeling shame himself.

It is profoundly astute, and, quite frankly for me, uncomfortable to watch. The question really is what is the show planning to do with it. Because it could leave it sitting there as fan service and an interesting character dynamic that most of the audience wouldn't be able to clearly put its finger on or it could take a risk I can't quite figure out the shape of. Until last night, I thought the risk wasn't an option -- then they shot Mozzie. Now I don't know.

Also, I can't believe I didn't mention this on these terms last week, but that scene where Neal helps Peter with his cufflinks? Did I really digress into show structure without talking about that act of tending to his master? I guess I did. Well now.

I, quite frankly, do not wish to be moved by this show in a personal way. It is inconvenient. But, here I am. Also, I gotta say, Neal's beautiful, but Peter is way hotter.

Finally, I tend to think this show is really, really good on race (at least regarding African-American characters), but its Asian characters and references are so cliched and feel pretty faily to me. On the other hand, maybe all that crap last night was a tribute to Blade Runner?

Last night on Covert Affairs: Okay, what is up with Auggie? Is he running an op on this reporter or what? Basically, I don't believe anyone. And I'm fascinated that she's shocked when he says she's a friend: that's some awfully casual/commerce-oriented ongoing sex those two have been playing. Closest comparison I can think of is Wesley/Lilah, but there I knew they were both emotionally involved even if they didn't want to be; here, maybe yes, maybe know. And I'm not sure she gets (or maybe that's the point) how hard she's pinging Auggie's issues about his blindness.

I love that the Ben mystery now feels like instead of being about Ben it's about Jai. That makes a few things more compelling, and the show much darker, because if Jai is trying to get with Annie, it raises the possibility of her being passed around between these men for all sorts of nefarious purpose. Again, it's the question of a show trying to figure out if it's dark or if it's a buddy comedy. Go dark, brave little show, go dark!

So non-canon pairings that are AWESOME after this episode: Jai/Ben and Joan/Auggie (because just imagine Arthur's conversation with Auggie about wanting his wife out of the blast radius if she's shagging Auggie) and Joan/Annie. Right?

Really, none of you wanted to talk about The Dark Crystal sequel with me? You all suck.

Comments

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

I think the only time I saw you the entire convention was when Peter and I cut through one of your panels on our way out post Workmanship contest because it was the only door they would let us out.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hahahahahah. That's so Dragon*Con.

[alt_universe_me.livejournal.com]

Ha, I was going to comment on the Dark Crystal thing the other day, but then I remembered that the last time I saw it was at least over fifteen years ago and I didn't want to sound like an idiot for not remembering any of the details. I remember it being pretty creepy, not like most of the movies that used muppets around that time. I can't believe they're making a sequel now. That's another thing from my childhood that I'll be able to relive with my son, I guess. (The other thing is Doctor Who)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I LOVED it. I have the original edition of the big Brian Froud art book from it and stuff. I think I saw the film with my dad like four times.

I just can't believe the when fandoms collide moment I'm having with this sequel. It's sooooooooo weird.

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

Oh and I'll talk Dark Crystal till the cows come home. I use to maintain UrAc the Uru at the Center for Puppetry Arts.

[rm.livejournal.com]

THAT IS SO COOL.

I've never been into puppetry stuff really at all, but I could watch that movie ALL DAY. Such good world-building in the objects and costumes and creature design. It's like "writers, learn from what this looks like!"

[sihaya09.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much, love.

[rednwhiterose.livejournal.com]

I use to make my sister watch the scene where the Skeksis leader dies. She hated when he would shrivel up...scared her to death. She still can't watch it to this day. Man I love that movie.

[yamx]

Just found a Christmas gift for my Mom at sihaya09's shop. She really has beautiful things. (Yes, it's early for Christmas shopping. I like to get it out of the way. I did most of my Christmas shopping for my friends at the end of February. In Cardiff. In the DW exhibit gift store. *g*)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hahahahahahaha. Man, I am so psyched to go back to Cardiff, although I think every time I take Patty somewhere nice she's going to look at me suspiciously and go "is this another one of those places you had Jack and Ianto have dinner in some fic?"

[byzantienne.livejournal.com]

I swear my inability to finish White Collar fic is directly related to the ways in which I identify with Neal to uncomfortable degrees.

[rm.livejournal.com]

If I were 24, i would be SO identifying with Neal. As it is, I feel this sense of "I don't want you people to know about my past" when I talk about it, despite the fact that I'm incredibly open about that stuff. There's a certain bit of truth in the construction of the show that makes it so awkward to discuss, I think. I wonder what show non-kinky, non-queer people are watching.

[booknerdguru.livejournal.com]

...Give me another day and I will have thoughts and squee about the Dark Crystal sequel. I'm thrilled/excited/slightly fearful about it and...yeah. I jumped from con back into being a history senior with 500 pages of reading to do for all my classes.

I do love the undertones in White Collar, because the dynamics are interesting and you hit the nail on the head with Peter asking "Do I own you or not?" It was incredibly uncomfortable to watch, and I found myself wincing a few times.

I am convinced that there was kevlar and fake blood involved with Mozzie.

That quilt idea is utterly fascinating. And I'm curious now as to what it would take to remember Ianto for a thousand years or more. Hmm.

[rm.livejournal.com]

And I'm curious now as to what it would take to remember Ianto for a thousand years or more.

Oh thank fuck! I think it's an incredibly interesting math problem, essentially, but one that's apparently too damn crazy for people to want to discuss.

I am convinced that there was kevlar and fake blood involved with Mozzie.

This is my suspicion as well, which is sucky, because I think that's a cheat. In my ideal world White Collar's relationship with us mirrors Peter's relationship with Neal and this shit just got serious and we have to decide whether it owns us or not. But I can't believe the show would be that ballsy.

[onemildrat.livejournal.com]

I recently bought a Jim Henson DVD-pack -- Labyrinth, Mirrormask and The Dark Crystal. And nothing marks a 80's child when he starts babbling about how the design was better in The Dark Crystal than in a lot of modern CGI-splattered flicks. Which happens to be true. I wonder if CGI encourages filmmakers to be lazy. Since The Dark Crystal is creating things that are actually "there," I suspect the Henson team put more thought into the visuals. In other words -- "Look, folks, we can't just wipe away a green screen here. We got to decide on something and stick with it."

As for the sequel? Well, I'll suspect that I watch it for the same reason I'll watch "Tron: Legacy" -- namely, curiosity.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT TRON LEGACY.

[scarlettgirl.livejournal.com]

Also, I gotta day, Neal's beautiful, but Peter is way hotter.

Oh, hell yeah.

I am trying really, really hard not to be fannish about this show.

I might be failing at that a bit.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I've been watching it and not quite hitting the fannish point, but this mid-season cliffie might do it for me, especially if Mozzie turns out to still be alive, because then I can write fic about the darker turn the show should have taken by killing him off.

Two things

[newwaytowrite.livejournal.com]

My only strong memory from The Dark Crystal is the line where a creature is dying and the group is around her death bed and they are squabbling about the successor and the creature at death's door exclaims, " I'm not dead yet!"

Second item is a question. What are these comps that Patty is enduring?

Re: Two things

[rm.livejournal.com]

Comprehensive examinations demonstrating expertise in her field. Required hurdle for a PhD.

Ianto

[botia.livejournal.com]

One of my cats is named Ianto. He was a real hard luck case, but he's a total mama's boy and loves to snuggle with me. The icon is Ianto as a kitten. He's very smart, and seems to know when I need a kitty hug. He also takes care of the younger kitties; he helped us raise a pair of bottle babies. He couldn't nurse them, but he did everything else, even teaching them how to be cats.

While we watched CoE, he was on my lap during the scene where Ianto died. I clutched him and cried. The character was important to me, but the kitty is like a soulmate; I could never forget either if I lived a thousand years.

Re: Ianto

[botia.livejournal.com]

And here's another icon of him :)

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

If you could also not be an asshole or a concern troll (i.e., telling her to go to one of the places it is suspected Morgan might be heading to in order to understand - right now the priority is finding an underage girl who may need help; the Internet can be a part of this. But Morgan is not the Internet's kid, and this sort of stuff is NOT helpful right now;

Fuck a duck, those people are PISSING ME OFF. 16 is NOT an adult, dammitall, and I really think that if these assholes had kids of their own, they'd be singing a different tune if one up and ran off.

For all of their bravado, teenagers can be shockingly vulnerable, fragile creatures. Even the smartest among them can get themselves into some awful binds.

I hope she gets her girlie back safe and sound. I need to hug my own teenagers and all of their friends when they get home from school today.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Word. Like yes, there's a good chance she'll be just fine, thank god. And yes, this will probably be an important formative experience for her, but she doesn't have a change of clothes, she may not have any money -- _that_ makes her vulnerable, regardless of whether a 16-y-o is an adult or not, and to insult the mother by saying she's over-protective is appalling.

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

I didn't even know there is going to be a The Dark Crystal sequel! Squee

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

I've got to hand it to Matt Bomer. When Neal finally loses his shit and takes the nuclear option, he gets the crazy eyes something terrific. It's like Darth Caffrey. I could attribute some of it to how they shot it, but it's like the light of conscience just switches off in him. It's also a lot like trance or possession, and watching Peter talk Neal back into himself gave me chills.

Also, I think I do want to call Blade Runner on that shop. They've been making all kinds of little references and tributes this season, and it would fit in with the writers' MO.

I'm so very on the fence about Mozzie. It's going to be strange and hard to hold in that Day Four place -- meaning considering the issue an open question until I have more data and see the body -- until January. I identify with Mozzie and Peter with near equal intensity, so that makes it even trickier.

And you're just now getting to the cufflinks? Oh dear. I'll just wait in my "I wish someone would write me an AU that takes place in ancient Rome where the ownership element is a bit more overt" place. *cough*

Re: Covert Affairs, you can tell the little jabs at his blindness get to Auggie by the way he hits back about it.

You know how I feel about the Auggie/Joan in light of Arthur's shenanigans last night. And wow, the ripples from the crash and burn aren't going to be nice. Nor is the payoff for Annie's noticing/paranoia. I really want to cling to Joan and Auggie as players who are stable, but really there's no one on the show who's wholly good. That's challenging and fantastic, but it pings everything that makes Othello hard for me to watch.

The quilt thing is interesting. I feel like making anything survive for that long requires a) a body of people willing to carry the idea, b) objects and texts that last, and c) making sure the idea is "sticky" enough that people will be automatically inclined to propagate it. I mean, to some extent it's always going to be luck, and once the ball starts rolling it ceases to be a controllable thing, but if the techie from Rescue Rangers can have her own religion, making a myth of Ianto Jones isn't impossible. He's got his own ballad and everything.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Have you read Aestival Tide? I'll be talking about it in one of my other Dragon*Con recap posts, but it contains "The Church of Jesus Christ Cadillac" in a post-apocalyptic Gulf states nation. V. relevant to this discussion.

And I'd mentioned the cufflinks last week, but only today did I think of some of the things I wrote about fencing and helping my fencing master with his jacket and go "OH."

[ladyofthelog.livejournal.com]

Speaking of fannish memory, have you seen this? It is amazing and makes me laugh. (Save it for Patty post-comps if she hasn't seen it.)

Also: I am going to have to watch White Collar now. Sigh. But hey, June!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yes, we love Beatles 3000! I actually wound up referencing it on one of my panels over the weekend.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

I was too busy to discuss the Dark Crystal sequel with you yesterday :) Sorry!

(edited for thinko)

[1-mad-squirrel.livejournal.com]

Re: White Collar, I didn't see the cuff link thing as tending to his master, but definitely as a very intimate act, like a spouse would perform.

Re: Mozzie, assassin guy shot him pretty clearly in the heart. I don't think they'll kill Mozzie, but I also don't know how they'll explain him surviving a shot to the heart. Maybe they'll take cues from the crappy "As the World Turns" writers.

RE: Dark Crystal sequel: I've never seen the original.

[debitha.livejournal.com]

This is the first post I've seen about White Collar, so I'm afraid you're about to get me blurting all over your post. I am actually kind of shaken by it. In that way where I laughed when it actually happened, and now I feel all weirdand overly-emotional about it. It's just as well I don't watch very many shows. I don't think I could take it. I'm not raging, it was brilliant television, it's just that I was starting to get really invested in him and then, well. It's entirely possible that they will save him, but I don't know. They'd have to spin some serious BS to pull it off. And as a death scene, it was just anti-climactic enough to be the real deal. On the other hand, as you say, taking out one of the few remnants Neal has left of his old life would certainly send the show down a different route.

On to less emo stuff - Neal going all swashbuckler with the banner swinging was all kinds of awesome. I was 98% sure that he wasn't actually going to shoot Fowler, but that niggly little 2% made for some goooood tension. I was really impressed with how much they managed to pack into that ep without feeling like they were rushing it.

The thing with the cufflinks made me seriously flaily. It was so matter of fact - there was no discussion or anything, Peter just turned around and gestured, and Neal did his thing. I totally concur as regards the hotness of Peter.

I did mean to comment about the Dark Crystal sequel. Tell me more! Are any details known? I haven't seen it in years, but it seemed like a pretty complete story. Any idea what they're planning to do with it?

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

Do you think you might include a reminder to vote in the primary for your New York readers? Granted, they can only vote if they are registered for a party, but primaries tend to get low turnout!

Thank you!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Sure, when is it? (I'm planning to vote, but I've not exactly been paying attention).

[darklingwoods.livejournal.com]

Dark Crystal? I have to say I'm pretty excited, adored the original and think my silly dog looks like Fizgig.

I'm assuming Froud will be working on the project?

and Ianto, well he couldn't be in a better fandom to be remembered :)

[elvish-dreams.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about the dark crystal sequel but I am still in too much shock to actually believe it.

[tree00faery.livejournal.com]

Gah, I /just/ watched Covert Affairs and White Collar. Covert Affairs was decent - I like the Ben-flashbacks a lot more when there's Jai in them and when Annie isn't just being all mopey and sadface. I'm also enjoying the Joan/Arthur storyline and the wtf-is-going-on-with-Auggie storyline. I would definitely like to see some Joan/Auggie fic though. I'm sure they have interesting history.

White Collar got me very flail-ey tonight. I do think Mozzie's dead - I mean, unless he was faking it with a bullet-proof vest and fake blood, that looked like a heart shot. As much as I love Mozzie, I do also sort of hope he's really gone, because they could do lots of fun dark things with that. (Then again, if he's alive, people will fanfic his death, which may be better...)

I also loveloveloved Neal in this episode, pretty much all the time. The scene at the end when he's sitting at his desk with tears in his eyes? Lovely. And I see what you mean about the "Do I own you?" thing with Peter. I actually really enjoyed watching that, and I hope we get to see it play out.

Hero Rats!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

They've been around for quite a few years, but very good to see them get some mainstream media coverage.

http://www.herorat.org/

I've also heard that the delightful rodents are being used to help find earthquake victims...

[sanat.livejournal.com]

Dark Crystal sequel?? Details, details!