entirely ruined her disposition with books

CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT HOW PERFECT DOWNTON ABBEY IS? OKAY.

( spoilers through the end of S1 )

This calls for all capslocks:

I AM CURRENTLY DOWNLOADING A MOVIE STARRING:

EMILY BLUNT

BILL NIGHY

RUPERT GRINT

MARTIN FREEMAN

RUPERT EVERETT

HOW IS SUCH A THING POSSIBLE? I MIGHT DIE FROM AN OVERDOSE OF AWESOME. AND I NEVER EVEN KNEW IT EXISTED. CURSE YOU, AMERICA, FOR NOT RELEASING BRITISH MOVIES.

AND TOMORROW I'M GOING TO DOWNLOAD A MOVIE STARRING RUPERT GRINT AND ROBERT SHEEHAN. AGAIN I ASK YOU: HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

I need to take this moment to freak the heck out because I just figured out that Spike from Press Gang is playing Nathan's dad on Misfits. HOW IS ANYTHING SO PERFECT POSSIBLE? I'm now going to totally disregard the fact that we've already met his mom and pretend that she's played by Julia Sawalha. OH HAI DEXTER FLETCHER. YOU HAVE NOT AGED WELL AND YOU SOUND REALLY FUNNY WHEN YOU AREN'T FAKING AN AMERICAN ACCENT AND DELIVERING SNARKY STEVE MOFFAT-PENNED DIALOGUE AND BEING A REALLY GOOD GUY WHILE PRETENDING TO BE A BAD BOY. STILL, I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU ON MY TELEVISION SCREEN. PERFECT CASTING IS PERFECT.

And yes, I'm still crossing my fingers that Moffat will do the Press Gang reunion movie. He's got the go ahead from the network. Now he just needs to make it happen.

Also, yes, Dexter Fletcher is freakishly short, and I amused by any jokes along those lines.

Some pretty much random thoughts about Deathly Hallows Part 1. :D

( spoilers )

So I've been kind of absent of late. Between new job, NaNoWriMo (which is going pretty well! Post about that to come, hopefully!) and busy family-ness, I just don't really have the time or energy to post a whole lot. Basically, by the time I get settled at home, I'm so tired that all I have the energy to do is reblog pictures of pretty people on tumblr, because that takes zero thought.

But I've been trying to keep up with y'all's posts, so there's that, but, once again, I am hopelessly behind in replying to comments in this here blog. Hopefully I can catch up with that very soon.

I've got a few fics ideas stewing that I might have some time to work on after November's over, and there's also YULETIDE OMG MY FAVORITE FANDOM ACTIVITY OF THE YEEEEEAR. Speaking of which, if you haven't signed up, it's not quite too late! You still have a few hours left! Get on it! Y'all, I signed up to write YA books of wonderfulness from my childhood! Heartbreaking and/or silly movies! Random Korean television! No matter what my assignment is, I will be psyched about it. Which reminds me that I need to finish up my "Dear Yuletide writer" letter stat.

Also! I have my next casting/picspam planned! Basically, now that I've started this, I will never stop. I have made a monster of my own self.

Oh, and I have a big big big project I need to start working on for January--keep watching this space for more info (and a couple of you keep watching your email boxes for requests for help--you know who you are, even if you have no idea what I'm talking about. If you think I'm talking about you, I am. I can vague that up a bit more, if you like. And yes, that's a hint).

I hope y'all are all doing well and that the gross weather (if you're having gross weather) hasn't been getting you down. Feel free to let me know what you're up to. Hopefully once the month is over, I'll be able to plunge back into lj life. I miss it.

Oh, and the last and most important thing (of the moment): in an hour and a half I will be sitting in a movie theater waiting for Harry Potter to start! My ticket is in my wallet! YAY YAY YAY!

Oh, and Emmie--I can't access my email here, but I wanted you to know that I got your email before I left for work this morning and I can't wait to check it out! Yay some more!

Um, apparently there is a rumor that MY FUTURE HUSBAND is going to have a role on Torchwood? WHAT THE HECK. I will actually have to watch that show.

I hope it's true because I WANT HIM ON MY TVCOMPUTER SCREEN ALWAYS.

And here are some initial thoughts! I may have more later. We shall see.

( spoilers leik woah )

Sir Patrick Stewart is currently Macbeth-ing it up on my TV screen. He will never not be incredibly talented and ridiculously attractive. Also he is a feminist who speaks out against domestic violence. WHY IS HE SO GREAT? Picard is the greatest Trek captain forever and ever and ever, the end.

The lady playing Lady Macbeth has glorious cheekbones and has reminded me that I need to make a post about my ~thing for cheekbones sometime. She is very intense and awesome--she is getting into her lines, I am telling you. Also, her dress has just slipped down so far that I swear I just saw nipple. Is that allowed on PBS?

The production design is gorgeous--WWII-inspired and creepy as all get out and cool beyond words. The Weird Sisters as played by creepy nurses! EXCELLENCE! Basically, it's the coolest version of Macbeth ever. Sorry, James Marsters. Even if you ever get around to making yours, it will not be as cool as SIR PATRICK STEWART IN A WWII NIGHTMARE WORLD.

I am sad I will never be an actress for this one reason--I would love to do Shakespeare. HIS LANGUAGE, Y'ALL. How could it not be the most fun thing in the world to memorize and deliver? And there are such excellent lady parts! Portia or Beatrice or Desdemona or Lady Macbeth, y'all!

I've been meaning for a while to talk about what I've been reading. Because it's something that's not fic or meta or articles on feminist websites! After I graduated from college, it took me a long time to be able to read again because I'd spent so much time analyzing texts over those four years that I just got burned out. But I am back to being able to read again, and it feels good.

So what have I been reading? Some really good stuff.

* Kindred by Octavia Butler. This book is perfect. One day, I want to be able to write something as perfect as this book. I was actually halfway through Fathom (see below) when I picked this one up. Whenever I pick up a new book, I like to read the "beginnings," as I call them: the introductions, acknowledgments, author's notes, and the first few lines. So I read the first few lines. And I was really engrossed. And I thought, "I'll just read the prologue. It's like two pages long." AND I NEVER STOPPED. Seriously, the book is compulsively readable. But at the same time, it's deeply profound. Perfect characterization: I could spend the rest of my life analyzing the relationship between Dana and Rufus, for instance, and I would never get to the bottom of it. Add in Kevin and Alice and the others? Gah. I can't even talk about it.

And this book is about the kyriarchy. It's the best book about the kyriarchy I've ever read. The whole thing is an exercise in examining the hierarchies of power and the ways they're tangled up in race and gender and class and even health. But it isn't preachy, and it's just so entertaining, too: if you didn't know or care about the kyriarchy, you could still love it and enjoy it. It sucks you in and doesn't let you up and you're completely captivated by these characters, but it's just so easy to read! I adore that.

I also really loved how it fit in seamlessly with the slave narratives I read in Southern Lit in college. I've never been so glad for being an English major: having had that prior experience with slave narratives, I felt that this book was so much richer.

I cannot rave about it enough. I'm going to read it once a year till I die, I think. Oh, and I read it in a day, so yeah. Very readable.

[eta] What it's actually about: a modern (written in the 70s) black woman who keeps getting pulled back in time to the nineteenth century to save her white ancestor, who is the son of a slave owner. Time travel. Slave narrative. YES.

* Fathom by Cherie Priest. This woman has a fantastic imagination. I can honestly say that you have never read a book like this. I adore the plot and the worldbuilding more than I can say. But I felt there was something lacking. I didn't really feel emotionally invested. I don't know if it's because I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well enough or if their motivations weren't nuanced enough or if it just wasn't long enough, but there was something missing for me. At the same time, I'm interested in seeing what else Priest has written because she has the most awesome imagination ever.

* Shards of Honor and Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold. Solid, character-driven sci-fi. Great characters--especially Cordelia and Aral and Kou and Drou and Bothari. Interesting relationships I cared about. Good worldbuilding. A strong female protagonist who was very competent but didn't physically kick ass. Good pacing and plotting. Basically just goodness, all the way around. If I could find more "sci-fi" (as opposed to fantasy) like this, I would read a ton more of it. This was my first Bujold experience, and I was impressed. Very.

Anyone have any advice as to how to proceed from here? I know she wrote the rest of the books all out of order, so I'd like to know which order to read them in. Chronologically? Or is it more like the Narnia books, where you need to read them as they were written? Help please!

And now for what some of you have been waiting for...

* The Hunger Games (all of them!) by Suzanne Collins. What did I spend Friday through Sunday doing? Reading all of the Hunger Games books, of course. Because I am like that. And yes, becoming pretty addicted and loving Katniss/Peeta forever and falling for a lot of the supporting characters. Read the books, people!

I will now proceed to spoil you horribly. DON’T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THEM!

( spoilers for the first two books )

( spoilers for Mockingjay )

And one last thing, because I am predictable:

( a final, MJ-spoiler-free note on shipping )


People, is there any good fic out there? I want good fic, and I don’t know where to look!



And now I have a thousand comments to reply to! I should get on that!

Okay, I should know better than to read any post that is aimed at the general BtVS fandom public and asks whether Buffy was really in love with Spike. Like, Lauren, why would you do that? You know it's just going to depress you!

( behind a cut for rambling and so as not to spoil marketchippie. This is about S7! )

This isn't an "Argue with me!" post. You can say, "I disagree," all you want, but I just really wanted to get my feelings down on paper and wallow in my own love for these two. angearia and I were talking just last night about how much we love them--more all the time--the kind of love that just makes you feel like your heart is going to explode. And even though I said a lot of what I just said in my manifesto, I needed to say it again for my own sake. So...don't argue with me, okay? Expressing disagreement is fine, but this is a happy post. 'Kay? Kay.