Vividcon OMG!
Why do every year I come up with a list of things to do before Vividcon and then the week before it, I stop caring about the list and just want to have fun at VVC? Argh it's happening again. I reeeeally need this vacation to happen right now and I'm so sick of all the stuff I need to do before it. All I can think of is the vids and the people and the funtimes and the relaxation and the PREMIERING VIDS!
The best news that I'm super excited about right now is I'm going to LA!!! I've decided to postphone traveling the world til later next year (probably after Vividcon because I totally plan my life around it heh) when I'll have more experience and money. I've decided to focus on motion graphics design because I like it much better than web design as I love motion so much more than static designs and you can can do more flashier stuff with it. Still trying to learn a lot right now but I'm hoping to save enough money to move to LA in October, probably after my birthday. This way I get to avoid the cold weather and FINALLY be in a place that I love with a lot more opportunities/networking in my field. I'm going to be living really cheaply, getting a job asap while trying to build a business on the side. The best part is that I have the whole city to explore and I can have fun just by walking around (contrary to popular belief, some people do walk in LA) and looking at all the beautiful sights. LA is just home to me, down deep in my soul and it miss it with every part of my soul.
I've been enjoying TV a lot this summer, old, new and catchup shows. My long delay in watching Sherlock basically comes down to me being profoundly sick of episodic shows and afraid to see yet another show that fandom loves that I can't get into, slash aside. I'm trying to stay positive though and focus on the two categories of shows I do enjoy: fun, relationship/character centered shows that keep me happy about the world (Glee, good comedies) and brilliant, serial well written beautiful narrative shows (Mad Men, Treme, FNL) that even when they break me down, lift me up in the wonderful narrative goodness. Brief rundown:
Summer:
True Blood: Getting better but still needs moar Pam and Lafayette.
Huge: Favorite new summer show! I thought it would be badly written and cliche like fellow ABC Fam shows Make It or Break It (which I really wanted to like but couldn't get past the bad dialogue) and Pretty Little Liars but I really love it a lot and even though the writing isn't the best or anything, the characters are. Will (Nikki Blonsky is so great) and Becca are my favorites (LOVE their relationship) and I'm dying to vid them. There's even a LARPing episode!
Losing It With Jillian: I like more Jillian time and more personal stuff with her but the episodes became a little too similar for me after awhile sadly.
Entourage: Still fun, still entertaining, still love the look inside Hollywood. Not liking Vince that much this season but loving Ari's stoyline.
Mad Men: LOVED the premiere! Not the second episode as much but I'm just liking being around the time period and characters and style again. Even the commercials are good/tied into the show! I do miss Sal a ton though, it'll never be the same without him.
ETA: The Real L Word: Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm watching it for the gay and the LA/Hollywood connection and it does deliver on that. Unfortunately none of them are really my type and the storylines such as they are, are kind of boring. I wish there was more single people, having them all be couplely (minus one) is kind of boring. I do have some kind of girl crush on Tracy who is just ridiculously beautiful and I love Stacie who actually is hilarious. Mikey would be my other favorite although as much as I love Fashion Week, it can get a bit old.
Catchup:
Treme:
Wow that was amazing! I'll hand it to David Simon, he sure knows how to do a payoff. My favorites by a wide margin are Toni and Janette who swapped #1 swaps throughout the season so we'll end with a tie. Reeeally hate and am bored by Sonny who I really want to GTFO of the show, predicted from the beginning he was a loser not worth spending time with. Was ambivalent about Davis, started to dislike/be annoyed by him a lot but towards the end of the season he became much better so I'm okay with him. Still think Janette and Annie deserve much better than him though.
I was totally shipping Creighton and Toni a ton and then...the end had to happen *cries* Gah you know, I'm usually completely understanding of suicide because I've been there and I know how much it can suck but all I could think of when I saw that was how selfish he was being. Poor Toni and Sofia (who I love-she's so cute) :( Broke my heart although the parallel between LaDonna and Toni was nicely done. I did love the Youtube videos, I don't notice the time difference much but that was one I did. Really loved the Tom Colicchio and co (Wylie!) cameo and it broke my heart that Janette lost her restaurant when she was so good. I don't get why she didn't raise the prices though. Also loved seeing Mardi Gras although it didn't seem as big as I expected but I'm sure that was the point.
I still wish there was a little more plot and forward motion in the narrative. I read an interview where it seems David Simon thinks people who are saying that just want murders and such but that's not it at all. I LOVED the Toni and LaDonna try to find her brother plot (omg that truck scene was so heartbreaking) which had me really invested in finding out what happens next and I'd like to see that with the other characters. Antoine especially who I really like (and have a vid idea for!) but needed more for his plotline. Also with Albert and his son. I did like Albert's police episode which was awesome and I'd love to see more stuff like that. Still loving the music and that final scene with the funeral was so amazing especially when LaDonna started to dance through the pain. Loved the Katrina flashbacks, it took me awhile to realize it but the best part of all was that haunting look into David's eyes which to me was just a "look what you've done to me" and indictment of everything that went wrong in the hurricane and what led to what happened to him. That image just sticks with me the most in the show.
Friday Night Lights:
OMG HOW IS THIS SHOW SO AMAZING? I swear, almost every episode made me cry. This season my favorite were definitely Vince and Tim Riggins who just made me hope and want only the best for them so much. Now Vince has a huge advantage because I'm still reaaally attached to Wallace and this show to me is totally the AU where Wallace was NEVER killed and instead went into the witness protection program with his mom and they sent him down to Dillon, Texas. It makes sense, damnit! But yeah, I was so excited to see him doing so well and playing such amazing football. And then...he turned into Michael. So now Wallace's mom is Bug and to get the money, he gets into the car with drugs. And I was so scared for him because I was afraid he'd get hard and maybe die (I can't lose him AGAIN!). But thankfully, thankfully, FNL is NOT The Wire cause I can only take so much. Also totally relating to him and shipping him with Jess because I like their shared history and connection (also I hate Landry heh).
And Tim Riggins man, oh Tim. He was doing SO WELL at being an adult. And that land...wow. I wanted that land. It was so beautiful and you could see how much he wanted it and it made me want it for him so much that I could understand and even want him to do the illegal car stuff. And then he goes and SELF-SACRIFICES himself for his brother!! I am a total sucker for that and it just killed me completely. I am just so proud of him and I really hope that after everything happens, he comes out on the other side well and does Dillon Tech and gets his land back (does he get to keep it? seriously my first thought lol) and build a house and live happily ever after with Lyla/other perfect girl/guy for him.
THEY WON!!! Oh my god, that was so satisfying. After the disgusting ruining of the Lion's homefield, I was livid and didn't even want to play the game if it was on the Panther's field...but damn it was good to beat them on their home field. SUCK IT PANTHERS! Lions forever. I absolutely love how Vince destroyed them with that great running touch down and Luke's great playing. This is why I watch TV for those great emotional moments that make everything between worth it. This season has been beautiful in showing the team come together and become better and deserving of this final win. Next year: State!
The Tami plotline made me want to punch people and reminded me that I could never live place where that kind of thing could happen. But I'm glad she's at Dillion now and I'm sure she'll do great there. Matt broke my heart into tiny pieces with his dad, that whole funeral episode was heartbreak city and beautifully played and written. Also loved D'Angelo on the show! They need to bring back Bodie now so he can find some redemption and live well. My only complaint is that I think Vince should have gotten a final scene in the last episode but I'm sure we'll get more of him next season. I really am impressed at how well this show changed it's cast of characters, although I miss a lot of people, the new direction, storyline and characters all are wonderful, fresh and keep me invested in everyone. Also, I love Coach, the end.
Behind on some shows for VVC, was hoping to catch up on Dexter, Dollhouse, Twin Peaks and maybe Justified, LotS S2 and Fringe S2 but I'm not sure what I'm going to be able to get down. Let me know if you think any are particularly necessary ;)
The weight loss challenge didn't go as well as I hoped for various reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture but I did lose some so it's not a total loss. If I've learned anything this year, it's that everything happens according to it's own timeframe and as long as you're working toward your goals, it's okay.
I'll be at Vividcon around 12:30pm or so on Thursday and plan to hang out in the lobby/go to welcome party/pre-reg so let me know if anyone wants to hang out at all then. I'm doing an all panel schedule except the Queer vidshow (because I MUST go to that of course) and will be taking notes (with my laptop!) on all of them. I'll be in Chicago til Monday, planning on going out to a nice restaurant for lunch and then will go to the airport around 4 PM or so. I'm always willing to talk or hang out with anyone who comes so let me know if anyone wants to make specific plans. But please, don't talk negative stuff about Glee in front of me because it's the quickest way to make me run in the opposite direction. I can't wait to see everyone and looking forward to seeing new people I haven't met yet!
The best news that I'm super excited about right now is I'm going to LA!!! I've decided to postphone traveling the world til later next year (probably after Vividcon because I totally plan my life around it heh) when I'll have more experience and money. I've decided to focus on motion graphics design because I like it much better than web design as I love motion so much more than static designs and you can can do more flashier stuff with it. Still trying to learn a lot right now but I'm hoping to save enough money to move to LA in October, probably after my birthday. This way I get to avoid the cold weather and FINALLY be in a place that I love with a lot more opportunities/networking in my field. I'm going to be living really cheaply, getting a job asap while trying to build a business on the side. The best part is that I have the whole city to explore and I can have fun just by walking around (contrary to popular belief, some people do walk in LA) and looking at all the beautiful sights. LA is just home to me, down deep in my soul and it miss it with every part of my soul.
I've been enjoying TV a lot this summer, old, new and catchup shows. My long delay in watching Sherlock basically comes down to me being profoundly sick of episodic shows and afraid to see yet another show that fandom loves that I can't get into, slash aside. I'm trying to stay positive though and focus on the two categories of shows I do enjoy: fun, relationship/character centered shows that keep me happy about the world (Glee, good comedies) and brilliant, serial well written beautiful narrative shows (Mad Men, Treme, FNL) that even when they break me down, lift me up in the wonderful narrative goodness. Brief rundown:
Summer:
True Blood: Getting better but still needs moar Pam and Lafayette.
Huge: Favorite new summer show! I thought it would be badly written and cliche like fellow ABC Fam shows Make It or Break It (which I really wanted to like but couldn't get past the bad dialogue) and Pretty Little Liars but I really love it a lot and even though the writing isn't the best or anything, the characters are. Will (Nikki Blonsky is so great) and Becca are my favorites (LOVE their relationship) and I'm dying to vid them. There's even a LARPing episode!
Losing It With Jillian: I like more Jillian time and more personal stuff with her but the episodes became a little too similar for me after awhile sadly.
Entourage: Still fun, still entertaining, still love the look inside Hollywood. Not liking Vince that much this season but loving Ari's stoyline.
Mad Men: LOVED the premiere! Not the second episode as much but I'm just liking being around the time period and characters and style again. Even the commercials are good/tied into the show! I do miss Sal a ton though, it'll never be the same without him.
ETA: The Real L Word: Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm watching it for the gay and the LA/Hollywood connection and it does deliver on that. Unfortunately none of them are really my type and the storylines such as they are, are kind of boring. I wish there was more single people, having them all be couplely (minus one) is kind of boring. I do have some kind of girl crush on Tracy who is just ridiculously beautiful and I love Stacie who actually is hilarious. Mikey would be my other favorite although as much as I love Fashion Week, it can get a bit old.
Catchup:
Treme:
Wow that was amazing! I'll hand it to David Simon, he sure knows how to do a payoff. My favorites by a wide margin are Toni and Janette who swapped #1 swaps throughout the season so we'll end with a tie. Reeeally hate and am bored by Sonny who I really want to GTFO of the show, predicted from the beginning he was a loser not worth spending time with. Was ambivalent about Davis, started to dislike/be annoyed by him a lot but towards the end of the season he became much better so I'm okay with him. Still think Janette and Annie deserve much better than him though.
I was totally shipping Creighton and Toni a ton and then...the end had to happen *cries* Gah you know, I'm usually completely understanding of suicide because I've been there and I know how much it can suck but all I could think of when I saw that was how selfish he was being. Poor Toni and Sofia (who I love-she's so cute) :( Broke my heart although the parallel between LaDonna and Toni was nicely done. I did love the Youtube videos, I don't notice the time difference much but that was one I did. Really loved the Tom Colicchio and co (Wylie!) cameo and it broke my heart that Janette lost her restaurant when she was so good. I don't get why she didn't raise the prices though. Also loved seeing Mardi Gras although it didn't seem as big as I expected but I'm sure that was the point.
I still wish there was a little more plot and forward motion in the narrative. I read an interview where it seems David Simon thinks people who are saying that just want murders and such but that's not it at all. I LOVED the Toni and LaDonna try to find her brother plot (omg that truck scene was so heartbreaking) which had me really invested in finding out what happens next and I'd like to see that with the other characters. Antoine especially who I really like (and have a vid idea for!) but needed more for his plotline. Also with Albert and his son. I did like Albert's police episode which was awesome and I'd love to see more stuff like that. Still loving the music and that final scene with the funeral was so amazing especially when LaDonna started to dance through the pain. Loved the Katrina flashbacks, it took me awhile to realize it but the best part of all was that haunting look into David's eyes which to me was just a "look what you've done to me" and indictment of everything that went wrong in the hurricane and what led to what happened to him. That image just sticks with me the most in the show.
Friday Night Lights:
OMG HOW IS THIS SHOW SO AMAZING? I swear, almost every episode made me cry. This season my favorite were definitely Vince and Tim Riggins who just made me hope and want only the best for them so much. Now Vince has a huge advantage because I'm still reaaally attached to Wallace and this show to me is totally the AU where Wallace was NEVER killed and instead went into the witness protection program with his mom and they sent him down to Dillon, Texas. It makes sense, damnit! But yeah, I was so excited to see him doing so well and playing such amazing football. And then...he turned into Michael. So now Wallace's mom is Bug and to get the money, he gets into the car with drugs. And I was so scared for him because I was afraid he'd get hard and maybe die (I can't lose him AGAIN!). But thankfully, thankfully, FNL is NOT The Wire cause I can only take so much. Also totally relating to him and shipping him with Jess because I like their shared history and connection (also I hate Landry heh).
And Tim Riggins man, oh Tim. He was doing SO WELL at being an adult. And that land...wow. I wanted that land. It was so beautiful and you could see how much he wanted it and it made me want it for him so much that I could understand and even want him to do the illegal car stuff. And then he goes and SELF-SACRIFICES himself for his brother!! I am a total sucker for that and it just killed me completely. I am just so proud of him and I really hope that after everything happens, he comes out on the other side well and does Dillon Tech and gets his land back (does he get to keep it? seriously my first thought lol) and build a house and live happily ever after with Lyla/other perfect girl/guy for him.
THEY WON!!! Oh my god, that was so satisfying. After the disgusting ruining of the Lion's homefield, I was livid and didn't even want to play the game if it was on the Panther's field...but damn it was good to beat them on their home field. SUCK IT PANTHERS! Lions forever. I absolutely love how Vince destroyed them with that great running touch down and Luke's great playing. This is why I watch TV for those great emotional moments that make everything between worth it. This season has been beautiful in showing the team come together and become better and deserving of this final win. Next year: State!
The Tami plotline made me want to punch people and reminded me that I could never live place where that kind of thing could happen. But I'm glad she's at Dillion now and I'm sure she'll do great there. Matt broke my heart into tiny pieces with his dad, that whole funeral episode was heartbreak city and beautifully played and written. Also loved D'Angelo on the show! They need to bring back Bodie now so he can find some redemption and live well. My only complaint is that I think Vince should have gotten a final scene in the last episode but I'm sure we'll get more of him next season. I really am impressed at how well this show changed it's cast of characters, although I miss a lot of people, the new direction, storyline and characters all are wonderful, fresh and keep me invested in everyone. Also, I love Coach, the end.
Behind on some shows for VVC, was hoping to catch up on Dexter, Dollhouse, Twin Peaks and maybe Justified, LotS S2 and Fringe S2 but I'm not sure what I'm going to be able to get down. Let me know if you think any are particularly necessary ;)
The weight loss challenge didn't go as well as I hoped for various reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture but I did lose some so it's not a total loss. If I've learned anything this year, it's that everything happens according to it's own timeframe and as long as you're working toward your goals, it's okay.
I'll be at Vividcon around 12:30pm or so on Thursday and plan to hang out in the lobby/go to welcome party/pre-reg so let me know if anyone wants to hang out at all then. I'm doing an all panel schedule except the Queer vidshow (because I MUST go to that of course) and will be taking notes (with my laptop!) on all of them. I'll be in Chicago til Monday, planning on going out to a nice restaurant for lunch and then will go to the airport around 4 PM or so. I'm always willing to talk or hang out with anyone who comes so let me know if anyone wants to make specific plans. But please, don't talk negative stuff about Glee in front of me because it's the quickest way to make me run in the opposite direction. I can't wait to see everyone and looking forward to seeing new people I haven't met yet!