Dispatches

[shipperx]

I suppose it's that time between winter and spring (though it looks exceedingly spring-like around here) where nothing much happens. Other than the soap opera of the elections not much is going on, leaving me to detail minutia.

*  They've now poured the footings for my sister's new house.  There's still lots of grading to be done to the site and Sis is frustrated at the pace of building (even though there's nothing to complain about there.  Sis and B.I.L. always think that things in construction are done far more quickly than they actually can be done).  But, as the architect, thus far I think things are moving along nicely.

* Have finished the revamping of my study at home, laying the hardwood flooring, repainting the room, moving the book cases, moving the cable to my wi-fi to the closet so that the wires aren't everywhere. I still have a garage full of soon-to-be discarded books but have managed to get the thousand or so "keepers" back into the book case. And I got a new comfy chair for tv watching and vegging out.

* Saw "Children of Men" this past weekend.  Interesting movie, but quite depressing.  Still, glad I finally got to see it.

* Saw "300" last night for the first time and that movie is amazingly surreal.  Sort of liked it though, and the abs were not hard on the eyes.

*  Have experienced an excruciating case of writer's block recently. (I'm sorry Kelly!)  It's been especially frustrating because it makes no sense.  I have a 99% completed chapter.  It's even been through editing twice and I'm still dissatisfied.  How does one unstick what is stuck?  I did manage to work on it last night (first time in ages I've managed to do anything substantial to it.  It's been a bear).  I'm about ready to scream 'enough' and simply post the chapter as is.  Then, perhaps, I can move on with the story.

* Current audible book that I'm listening too - Stephen King's "Duma Key".  Damn, how in the hell does that man write so fast?  Seriously, this 8 part audio book was written post Katrina (there are references to Katrina).  How can he be this prolific?

* Saw the BtVS comic spoiler that 

Buffy sleeps with slayerette Satsu, which reinforces my sense that Joss frequently does stuff  more for shits and giggles than out of a genuine desire to organically evolve the characters  from where their emotional arcs ended in show canon (Let me get this straight.  Buffy sleeps on whim with a subordinate who genuinely loves her and she will regret it later.  Nice move there, Buffster.  When lonely, use someone.  Bonus points if that someone genuinely loves you.  Ever thought about being less selfish for a change? And, Joss, ever think about getting a new plot?  Let me guess, it will end very, very tragically.  Rinse, recycle, repeat.  )   Oh well, at least the plot isn't Bander.

Joss can do whatever he wants.  It's his franchise, but it still feels like fanfic to me.

* Am looking forward to the John Adams mini-series that's due out on HBO.  It looks quite interesting.  And the history is quite interesting.  There's the John and Abigail Adams love story, who appear to have been genuinely devoted to one another.  There's the fact that John Adams disliked Benjamin Franklin and frequently railed against him.  There's the fact that Thomas Jefferson stabbed Adams in the back in truly appalling fashion.  And there's the dichotomy that Adams was to all appearances a very principled man... who was quite unpopular with his contemporaries.  Plenty of fodder for a mini-series.

*  For bad (professional) fic funnies, I link you to an excerpt from the upcoming LKH novel  Mermaids like it missionary.  Who knew?

* Project Runway finale tonight, whee!

* Spring break vacation to the beach in 2 weeks.  Double whee!

And, now, lunch is over and I'm back to work changing the structure of a school addition for the umpteenth time.  Damn engineers.

Comments

[mlgm.livejournal.com]

John Adams is my favorite founding father (yes, I'm that much of history geek to have a favorite founding father) and I'm really geeked about the mini series.

I think the big reason Adams was so disliked was because he was so principled. Who likes a truth teller?

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

When I watched the PBS documentary on John Adams I was totally appalled on his behalf for the way that Thomas Jefferson treated him. It permanently altered my perception of Jefferson.

[jerrymcl89.livejournal.com]

Jefferson may have been a great man, but he doesn't seem to have been a good one. I think people generally like him less the more they know about him.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Yes. The man was brilliant, but, damn, he did some seriously ruthless shit.

[bubonicplague.livejournal.com]

Seriously, you can't tell me that Whedon isn't just doing that for shock value in order to spur a juvenile and prurient interest in his comics. WOOHOO LESBIAN ACTION IS HOT! Grow the fuck up, Joss.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Two hot girls kissing! What more can a fanboy want? Who cares that the emotional arc is the exact same one... again.)

[bubonicplague.livejournal.com]

And Willow is going to pretend not to be jealous and shit! Maybe they can all wrestle naked!

Someone needs to put his Girls Gone Wild collection away.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I think boobies are supposed to immobilize fannish brains so that no one notices that it's the same old schtick.

[paratti.livejournal.com]

Doesn't Girls Gone Wild feature women with actual boobs, rather than the prepubescent body types Joss fills his work with?

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Not having seen it myself, I gather from commercials that it mostly features obscenely drunk co-eds on spring break who will do anything to end up on tv.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Joss can do whatever he wants. It's his franchise, but it still feels like fanfic to me.

It's felt like fanfic for a while to me (and not the good kind. The kind that shows up mostly at FF.N or TTH with Super!Xander/Buffy) but I this this issue makes it official: it's crackfic

But I am looking forward to the John Adams miniseries!

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

The John Adams thing looks like it has great production values.

And, yeah, the BtVS 8 comics are kinda crack!ficcy.

[paratti.livejournal.com]

It's not just fic, it's badfic - really, really bad badfic.

I mean, honestly, if anyone at BBF had recced a post Chosen fic centered around Buffy the Bisexual Bank Robber who expresses not an ounce of grief for the dead, continues to be mired in self-pitying whining and uses a Mary Sue OFC that loves her for sex as something actually good thay'd have been (hopefully) laughed off the list.

And it does have the side nasties of feeling like its there so Joss and his minions can get off on fetishing lesbianism - again - combined with cynically providing wank material for fanboys.

Neither sound like the show I signed on for.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Buffy the Bisexual Bank Robber

*sporfle* I think you've found a new title for the comic series!

[nmissi.livejournal.com]

Oh, God. I went to that LKH site you linked? Man. People are still reading those books? She's still writing them? Damn. I would've thought the syphillis would have killed her by now. Clearly the spirochetes have gotten her brain. I thought about joining- just to ask, "hey, what happened to my beloved Edward?" Then I decided I probably am better off knowing. He's probably shagging wereleopards by now.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Oh the community was a badfic quotes community and thus frequently provides amusement. Usually the source of amusement is fanfic, but LKH has fallen to that level so she deserved a post as well.

I remember a year or two ago someone posted a love-scene (and I use the term euphemistically) from one of the more resent novels and it was hilarious in its badfic terribleness. Truly, it astounds me that this stuff is still published.

I thought the poor merman who only has "normal" sex was pretty funny in its own right, though. Probably because you just know Anita takes care of that... probably in the very next paragraph.

[jerrymcl89.livejournal.com]

Actually, now that I've read the BtVS issue, I thought it was quite good. That's not something I would have expected Buffy to do, but it actually did feel like Buffy, moreso than some of the other issues in the series.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

It's good to hear that it makes more sense that it sounds like it would make. That's something, at least. And I don't think it's necessarily out of character for her. I do wonder about Joss's motivation for the story twist. But, as someone in another journal noted, it's hardly the most WTF thing to happen in the comics.

[kitmarlowescot2.livejournal.com]

Hey if it gets us comics of Angel/Spike together fine by me. And Spike would be a Satsu/Buffy shipper, as long as he got to watch.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Spike would be a Satsu/Buffy shipper, as long as he got to watch.

Heh. This is true.