Existence!
I should be working, but people are frustrating me by being unclear as to how many resources I have to finish my experiments, so I'll just update instead.
Life continues, and I'm still in love with grad school to an unholy degree, despite surviving a rather unpleasant two weeks work-wise, all things considered. I did well on my exam, and general well in my other class, so life's not too shabby.
lodessa was here last week, so we did typical New England things like apple picking, typical girlie things like watching the second part of Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version) when I had a really bad day, and typical fandom things like writing Veronica Mars meta. We might even get our act together enough to post it when she gets back to her coast. The P&P had the unexpected side-effect that Doyle's interested in going as Mr. Darcy for Halloween, which I'm totally all for.
lodessa also read the current (let's say 1.3ish) draft of Glamour and gave me feedback I'd not heard before - like how the chapter I think sucks rocks is actually fairly suspenseful, and how I need to make Our Heroine more accessible in the latter parts of the novel. (To be fair to my other editors - I'd not heard that yet 'cause they hadn't gotten that far.) Also, she said the pacing was good, and that's possibly the best thing I'd heard on the subject. We spent the car ride to the train station dissecting, and I'm really excited to go and edit things more... when I have the time. Thanksgiving, maybe?
Haven't watched Studio 60, and despite my sister's trying to get me hooked really haven't a desire to. It seems... pretentious? Have watched Veronica Mars, and thus far support ww1614's comments about it. Not what I'd call an A, but definitely a solid B. Of course, we'll see how Rob Thomas wraps up the mystery before I decide. I'm convinced he can't end things well, and needs violence and flash to hide that fact, but more about that in the meta. Caught up on all the Doctor Who save last Friday's - am definitely enjoying it, and despite the criticisms I've heard of Tennant, I like him a good deal. Some have said that Rose has overstayed her welcome, and that I find true - her arc was over at the end of the first (new) series, and really all they're doing now is playing on her insecurities. She doesn't really have much in the way of agency any more. (By the way, can you tell that Doyle & I marathoned all the stuff on our DVR the first weekend I had free?)
Battlestar Galactica is continuing to make me very, very sad. It showed such excellent promise in the beginning, but these days it has the air of train wreck. Really, as sad as it is, the more I watch TV, the more I become convinced that Babylon 5 was the most perfect show ever conceived, and everyone else should give up now.
I know a lot of people feel as though Buffy is somehow the thing that transformed sci-fi/fantasy on television, but... well, I don't. I found it great in the first season and a half, which I watched live on a TV in a spare bedroom in 10th grade 'cause I didn't want my dad catching me and making fun (It's a hang-up. My dad's an elitist snob from his books to his TV shows, but he's right more often than he's wrong, so his opinion still matters to me.), but after "Passion" or so, it really went downhill for me - I couldn't find empathy with any of the characters, who more and more seemed like power-tripping asses, and while the dialogue and the occasional off-episode (ironically, "Hush" comes to mind here) were enjoyable, I was only truly invested because it was something I could discuss and dissect with my friends.
Not to say that B5 is perfect - there are some continuity issues, the story floundered seriously around the beginning and middle of season 5, and I don't know if I'll ever forgive JMS for Byron and what he does to Lyta. But the story is sound, the plot flows, he makes us care about the characters, tells us exactly what he's going to do, and does it. And takes you for a hell of a ride along the way.
Wow, I really didn't expect this entry to be so long, or so involved. I guess my little hiatus generated food for thought.
Life continues, and I'm still in love with grad school to an unholy degree, despite surviving a rather unpleasant two weeks work-wise, all things considered. I did well on my exam, and general well in my other class, so life's not too shabby.
lodessa was here last week, so we did typical New England things like apple picking, typical girlie things like watching the second part of Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version) when I had a really bad day, and typical fandom things like writing Veronica Mars meta. We might even get our act together enough to post it when she gets back to her coast. The P&P had the unexpected side-effect that Doyle's interested in going as Mr. Darcy for Halloween, which I'm totally all for.
lodessa also read the current (let's say 1.3ish) draft of Glamour and gave me feedback I'd not heard before - like how the chapter I think sucks rocks is actually fairly suspenseful, and how I need to make Our Heroine more accessible in the latter parts of the novel. (To be fair to my other editors - I'd not heard that yet 'cause they hadn't gotten that far.) Also, she said the pacing was good, and that's possibly the best thing I'd heard on the subject. We spent the car ride to the train station dissecting, and I'm really excited to go and edit things more... when I have the time. Thanksgiving, maybe?
Haven't watched Studio 60, and despite my sister's trying to get me hooked really haven't a desire to. It seems... pretentious? Have watched Veronica Mars, and thus far support ww1614's comments about it. Not what I'd call an A, but definitely a solid B. Of course, we'll see how Rob Thomas wraps up the mystery before I decide. I'm convinced he can't end things well, and needs violence and flash to hide that fact, but more about that in the meta. Caught up on all the Doctor Who save last Friday's - am definitely enjoying it, and despite the criticisms I've heard of Tennant, I like him a good deal. Some have said that Rose has overstayed her welcome, and that I find true - her arc was over at the end of the first (new) series, and really all they're doing now is playing on her insecurities. She doesn't really have much in the way of agency any more. (By the way, can you tell that Doyle & I marathoned all the stuff on our DVR the first weekend I had free?)
Battlestar Galactica is continuing to make me very, very sad. It showed such excellent promise in the beginning, but these days it has the air of train wreck. Really, as sad as it is, the more I watch TV, the more I become convinced that Babylon 5 was the most perfect show ever conceived, and everyone else should give up now.
I know a lot of people feel as though Buffy is somehow the thing that transformed sci-fi/fantasy on television, but... well, I don't. I found it great in the first season and a half, which I watched live on a TV in a spare bedroom in 10th grade 'cause I didn't want my dad catching me and making fun (It's a hang-up. My dad's an elitist snob from his books to his TV shows, but he's right more often than he's wrong, so his opinion still matters to me.), but after "Passion" or so, it really went downhill for me - I couldn't find empathy with any of the characters, who more and more seemed like power-tripping asses, and while the dialogue and the occasional off-episode (ironically, "Hush" comes to mind here) were enjoyable, I was only truly invested because it was something I could discuss and dissect with my friends.
Not to say that B5 is perfect - there are some continuity issues, the story floundered seriously around the beginning and middle of season 5, and I don't know if I'll ever forgive JMS for Byron and what he does to Lyta. But the story is sound, the plot flows, he makes us care about the characters, tells us exactly what he's going to do, and does it. And takes you for a hell of a ride along the way.
Wow, I really didn't expect this entry to be so long, or so involved. I guess my little hiatus generated food for thought.