(no subject)
Happy birthday fialka!
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It rained this morning. Not heavy, drippy fog but full on rain. In July. This is not supposed to be happening.
Also, this has not been my best week ever, and hormones aren't helping, though the run last night through the canyon did. It's taking me a really long time to build up my endurance, but I think I'm about halfway from OH GOD PLEASE KILL ME NOW to pathetic, and after I achieve pathetic I can aim for merely sad. From there it's only a hop, skip and a jump to mediocre! It's important to have goals. And the bento obsession is at least making lunch pleasant; today I had broiled shiozake (salted salmon), lotus root salad, hijiki stewed with julienned carrot and aburaage (tofu puff), strips of omelet, and rice packed in my tidy little box. This is my first experience with lotus root; it's light and crisp, slightly sweet and slightly nutty, and I approve.
I'm feeling a bit removed from the approaching Potterdammerung, which is probably just as well; I might be the only person in the universe who read the first Harry Potter way back when it came out in paperback, said, "Eh, that was mildly entertaining," and never picked up the rest of the series or managed to see any of the movies. On the other hand, I've recently seen several long screeds (this, for example) by culture critics directed at the franchise, because people are reading Potter instead of Serious Fiction, which is a sign of the End Times, and Civilization Is Doomed, and Won't Somebody Think of the Literature, and They're Reading but They're Not Reading the Books I Have Designated as Worthwhile, and that never fails to annoy.
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due South 2.11 - "Starman"
Amanda Tapping!!!
Also, it's interesting how both Fraser and Ray are right about Ian. Ray is right that if they listen to Ian, Fraser will probably believe him and they'll end up driving around dodging bullets (and his grudge over the first Riv is both hilarious and justified; in general, Ray is gloriously cranky and bitter throughout this episode). Ray's also right in his cynical take on what happened between Ian and Audrey, that Audrey was just in it for a fun night while it meant more to Ian, at least originally. But Fraser is also right that while Ian lies about the details, he tells emotional truths, and he wasn't completely deluded about the situation. He's genuinely in love, and genuinely desperate to find Audrey, and Audrey has some real affection for him in the end. And more than that, he's found a business where he can tell stories and others can believe him because they're all agreeing to share a fantasy, trying to fill otherwise ordinary lives with a touch of something extraordinary. It's a situation that could be crass and exploitative, but comes across as something much more gentle and hopeful. And in the meantime, Diefenbaker takes advantage of the two old women who woo with food to continue having a terrible, terrible diet.
But mostly, Amanda Tapping!!! Playing a scientist researching alien life at a secret military facility. Hee!
due South 2.12 - "Some Like It Red"
Fraser in drag is obviously a recipe for wacky hijinks, and the show obviously has a lot of fun with the premise; I especially love the Mary Tyler Moore-style music that plays over the scene of Fraser in his dress and wig walking down the street with Ray as they hash out what they know of the mystery so far, but the scene at the dance with Fraser's short admirer and, later, Ray and Fraser executing an entire encyclopedia's worth of stylized dance moves is also pretty hilarious. But underneath it all, Fraser is on the kind of crusade that defines him, helping someone who has made some foolish choices but isn't necessarily a bad person, and who has gotten in way over her head because of those foolish choices. I especially liked "Miss" Fraser's relationship with Melissa; the situation could frankly have been really unintentionally icky, an adult man infiltrating a dorm full of teenage Catholic schoolgirls and befriending one of them, but instead the scenes between them are really charming. Fraser approaches Melissa as a person, listens to what she tells him, and when he and when she asks for advice, he gives her the best advice of all: not to worry about the outward trappings when it comes to attracting boys, but to believe in yourself, to have a goal and a purpose. And he doesn't encourage her to turn her friend in--the easy way to the information, but the one that would damage her the most--but does encourage her to help her, and to make her own decisions about helping her. It reminded me of "A Cop, a Mountie, and a Baby," when Fraser wouldn't interfere with the young father's foolish choice to sell his child until he'd changed his mind; everybody gets to make their own decisions.
due South 2.13 - "White Men Can't Jump to Conclusions"
I almost didn't recognize Leonard Roberts; he's so young-looking here. There are neat parallels between Ray's attitude toward gunshots in the bad neighborhood (he wants to keep his head down and mind his own business; the place is beyond salvation) and his attitude toward Fraser advocating for Tyree's innocence (believing Fraser means that the real shooter is out there and the problem is more complicated than he wants it to be) and Tyree's own attitude about his future (he's a product of the neighborhood and governed by the futures that are allotted to the people who grow up there, basketball stardom and escape or getting sucked into the local crime). All three situations are a product of knowing the routine and buying into the system that keeps it all afloat, knowing your part in a cyclical drama; Fraser, the outsider, sees it with different eyes, and asks questions, and challenges all of those assumptions. It says a lot about how much Ray has come to trust Fraser's judgment and his different take that, despite the evidence, he listens to Fraser; he doesn't dismiss him, he counters Fraser's arguments in a way that shows he takes them seriously. (I also love the way Ray's discouraged head-drop after hearing that Fraser lent bail money to Tyree mirrors Fraser's discouraged head-drop at the beginning of the episode when he realized that someone had taken his boots off the roof of the car. Both of those things were inevitable.) It was nice to see that Tyree's friend didn't want him to go to jail for him (perhaps I have too much "Rashard and Wallace Go to White Castle" on the brain, but I expected the friend to be more cynical); the chain of faith, from Fraser to Tyree and, once Tyree had recovered his belief in himself, outward into his relationships, is pretty typical of this show, although some aspects of the handling of "inner city" culture made me cringe some, and the pure PSA at the end made me cringe a little more.
The lengths Fraser went to to hide his bootlessness from Thatcher were pretty amusing, and given how wrong he looked in running shoes, not unreasonable.
* * * * *
It rained this morning. Not heavy, drippy fog but full on rain. In July. This is not supposed to be happening.
Also, this has not been my best week ever, and hormones aren't helping, though the run last night through the canyon did. It's taking me a really long time to build up my endurance, but I think I'm about halfway from OH GOD PLEASE KILL ME NOW to pathetic, and after I achieve pathetic I can aim for merely sad. From there it's only a hop, skip and a jump to mediocre! It's important to have goals. And the bento obsession is at least making lunch pleasant; today I had broiled shiozake (salted salmon), lotus root salad, hijiki stewed with julienned carrot and aburaage (tofu puff), strips of omelet, and rice packed in my tidy little box. This is my first experience with lotus root; it's light and crisp, slightly sweet and slightly nutty, and I approve.
I'm feeling a bit removed from the approaching Potterdammerung, which is probably just as well; I might be the only person in the universe who read the first Harry Potter way back when it came out in paperback, said, "Eh, that was mildly entertaining," and never picked up the rest of the series or managed to see any of the movies. On the other hand, I've recently seen several long screeds (this, for example) by culture critics directed at the franchise, because people are reading Potter instead of Serious Fiction, which is a sign of the End Times, and Civilization Is Doomed, and Won't Somebody Think of the Literature, and They're Reading but They're Not Reading the Books I Have Designated as Worthwhile, and that never fails to annoy.
* * * * *
due South 2.11 - "Starman"
Amanda Tapping!!!
Also, it's interesting how both Fraser and Ray are right about Ian. Ray is right that if they listen to Ian, Fraser will probably believe him and they'll end up driving around dodging bullets (and his grudge over the first Riv is both hilarious and justified; in general, Ray is gloriously cranky and bitter throughout this episode). Ray's also right in his cynical take on what happened between Ian and Audrey, that Audrey was just in it for a fun night while it meant more to Ian, at least originally. But Fraser is also right that while Ian lies about the details, he tells emotional truths, and he wasn't completely deluded about the situation. He's genuinely in love, and genuinely desperate to find Audrey, and Audrey has some real affection for him in the end. And more than that, he's found a business where he can tell stories and others can believe him because they're all agreeing to share a fantasy, trying to fill otherwise ordinary lives with a touch of something extraordinary. It's a situation that could be crass and exploitative, but comes across as something much more gentle and hopeful. And in the meantime, Diefenbaker takes advantage of the two old women who woo with food to continue having a terrible, terrible diet.
But mostly, Amanda Tapping!!! Playing a scientist researching alien life at a secret military facility. Hee!
due South 2.12 - "Some Like It Red"
Fraser in drag is obviously a recipe for wacky hijinks, and the show obviously has a lot of fun with the premise; I especially love the Mary Tyler Moore-style music that plays over the scene of Fraser in his dress and wig walking down the street with Ray as they hash out what they know of the mystery so far, but the scene at the dance with Fraser's short admirer and, later, Ray and Fraser executing an entire encyclopedia's worth of stylized dance moves is also pretty hilarious. But underneath it all, Fraser is on the kind of crusade that defines him, helping someone who has made some foolish choices but isn't necessarily a bad person, and who has gotten in way over her head because of those foolish choices. I especially liked "Miss" Fraser's relationship with Melissa; the situation could frankly have been really unintentionally icky, an adult man infiltrating a dorm full of teenage Catholic schoolgirls and befriending one of them, but instead the scenes between them are really charming. Fraser approaches Melissa as a person, listens to what she tells him, and when he and when she asks for advice, he gives her the best advice of all: not to worry about the outward trappings when it comes to attracting boys, but to believe in yourself, to have a goal and a purpose. And he doesn't encourage her to turn her friend in--the easy way to the information, but the one that would damage her the most--but does encourage her to help her, and to make her own decisions about helping her. It reminded me of "A Cop, a Mountie, and a Baby," when Fraser wouldn't interfere with the young father's foolish choice to sell his child until he'd changed his mind; everybody gets to make their own decisions.
due South 2.13 - "White Men Can't Jump to Conclusions"
I almost didn't recognize Leonard Roberts; he's so young-looking here. There are neat parallels between Ray's attitude toward gunshots in the bad neighborhood (he wants to keep his head down and mind his own business; the place is beyond salvation) and his attitude toward Fraser advocating for Tyree's innocence (believing Fraser means that the real shooter is out there and the problem is more complicated than he wants it to be) and Tyree's own attitude about his future (he's a product of the neighborhood and governed by the futures that are allotted to the people who grow up there, basketball stardom and escape or getting sucked into the local crime). All three situations are a product of knowing the routine and buying into the system that keeps it all afloat, knowing your part in a cyclical drama; Fraser, the outsider, sees it with different eyes, and asks questions, and challenges all of those assumptions. It says a lot about how much Ray has come to trust Fraser's judgment and his different take that, despite the evidence, he listens to Fraser; he doesn't dismiss him, he counters Fraser's arguments in a way that shows he takes them seriously. (I also love the way Ray's discouraged head-drop after hearing that Fraser lent bail money to Tyree mirrors Fraser's discouraged head-drop at the beginning of the episode when he realized that someone had taken his boots off the roof of the car. Both of those things were inevitable.) It was nice to see that Tyree's friend didn't want him to go to jail for him (perhaps I have too much "Rashard and Wallace Go to White Castle" on the brain, but I expected the friend to be more cynical); the chain of faith, from Fraser to Tyree and, once Tyree had recovered his belief in himself, outward into his relationships, is pretty typical of this show, although some aspects of the handling of "inner city" culture made me cringe some, and the pure PSA at the end made me cringe a little more.
The lengths Fraser went to to hide his bootlessness from Thatcher were pretty amusing, and given how wrong he looked in running shoes, not unreasonable.