This and That
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1. Bruce Springsteen
You ever feel like some of his lyrics are about you specifically? Lately, I keep feeling like the lyrics, "I got debts that no honest man can pay," in his song Atlantic City, are about me specifically. I feel like I'm drowning in debt.
2. Gundam Wing
I love mecha but never met a Gundam series that really grabbed me until I finally got to start watching Gundam Wing on Hulu. It's knocked down one of my last remaining squicks. All of the pilots are underage, and yet I ship some of them. I was close to crossing that line with Shiro and Keith in Voltron Legendary Defender but insisted on telling myself Keith was 18 from the beginning of the series. I've crossed the line completely shipping Trowa/Quatre. Course my favorite ship in Gundam Wing is the "a boy and his giant robot" Duo/Deathscythe ship. I watch giant robot shows for the giant robots. If there's some nice romance textual or subtextual that's just a bonus.
3. My Birthdate and Chinese New Year
My birthday, for anyone who's missed it or could use a reminder, is February 5th. This year it also happens to be Chinese New Year. It makes me wish there was a Chinatown in the state I could visit for my birthday. I'll have to make do with ordering Chinese and watching Hong Kong action movies. I was born on February 5th in 1975. Thanks to a lot of Chinese restaurant placemats in my life, I spent a long time thinking my having been born in 1975 meant that I was a Rabbit by the Chinese Zodiac. It was only recently that I realized in 1975 my birthday came before Chinese New Year. I'm actually a Tiger. In the newspaper that my parents saved from the day of my birth, there are even advertisements to come on in and buy your party supplies for Chinese New Year.
4. 1980's Fantasy Films
I stumbled across this page the other day, and it made me realize a few things. a) I watched an awful lot of fantasy films in the '80s. I can think of ones she didn't include on the list, not sure I want to mention the ones I can think of, but there are ones I can think of that are not on that list but should be. b) I'm not as nostalgic about the original Highlander movie as I am about the original Highlander TV series. I mean I don't dislike Connor, but I can understand her reaction to the film. I'm most nostalgic about the film as the origin of the whole Highlander franchise. Without that first movie, there would never have been a Methos or a Colin MacLeod. c) My Top Five is definitely different than hers, but all of my Top Five do at least make her Top Ten. My Top Five are for the record --
My Top Five '80s Fantasy Films
1. The Princess Bride
2. Labyrinth
3. The Last Unicorn
4. Ladyhawke
5. Willow
d) Willow doesn't mean as much to me as it used to. I was wildly in love with Madmartigan, played by Val Kilmer, for a long time. I still have Madmartigan posters in my bedroom, but my feelings for the movie as a whole have mellowed. It still makes my Top Five, but only in that fifth and final slot.
1. Bruce Springsteen
You ever feel like some of his lyrics are about you specifically? Lately, I keep feeling like the lyrics, "I got debts that no honest man can pay," in his song Atlantic City, are about me specifically. I feel like I'm drowning in debt.
2. Gundam Wing
I love mecha but never met a Gundam series that really grabbed me until I finally got to start watching Gundam Wing on Hulu. It's knocked down one of my last remaining squicks. All of the pilots are underage, and yet I ship some of them. I was close to crossing that line with Shiro and Keith in Voltron Legendary Defender but insisted on telling myself Keith was 18 from the beginning of the series. I've crossed the line completely shipping Trowa/Quatre. Course my favorite ship in Gundam Wing is the "a boy and his giant robot" Duo/Deathscythe ship. I watch giant robot shows for the giant robots. If there's some nice romance textual or subtextual that's just a bonus.
3. My Birthdate and Chinese New Year
My birthday, for anyone who's missed it or could use a reminder, is February 5th. This year it also happens to be Chinese New Year. It makes me wish there was a Chinatown in the state I could visit for my birthday. I'll have to make do with ordering Chinese and watching Hong Kong action movies. I was born on February 5th in 1975. Thanks to a lot of Chinese restaurant placemats in my life, I spent a long time thinking my having been born in 1975 meant that I was a Rabbit by the Chinese Zodiac. It was only recently that I realized in 1975 my birthday came before Chinese New Year. I'm actually a Tiger. In the newspaper that my parents saved from the day of my birth, there are even advertisements to come on in and buy your party supplies for Chinese New Year.
4. 1980's Fantasy Films
I stumbled across this page the other day, and it made me realize a few things. a) I watched an awful lot of fantasy films in the '80s. I can think of ones she didn't include on the list, not sure I want to mention the ones I can think of, but there are ones I can think of that are not on that list but should be. b) I'm not as nostalgic about the original Highlander movie as I am about the original Highlander TV series. I mean I don't dislike Connor, but I can understand her reaction to the film. I'm most nostalgic about the film as the origin of the whole Highlander franchise. Without that first movie, there would never have been a Methos or a Colin MacLeod. c) My Top Five is definitely different than hers, but all of my Top Five do at least make her Top Ten. My Top Five are for the record --
My Top Five '80s Fantasy Films
1. The Princess Bride
2. Labyrinth
3. The Last Unicorn
4. Ladyhawke
5. Willow
d) Willow doesn't mean as much to me as it used to. I was wildly in love with Madmartigan, played by Val Kilmer, for a long time. I still have Madmartigan posters in my bedroom, but my feelings for the movie as a whole have mellowed. It still makes my Top Five, but only in that fifth and final slot.