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So, in between swimming, and sunning myself on the beach and looking at sunsets, I countinued with my watching of 17 different things.
I really like this episode because it leads so beautifully into themes of S2: the ambiguity of Crais, the growing bond between John and Aeryn (and them being each other's solace), the bond between the crew, the shadow of Scorpius and John's unbalance transforming into insanity. I know S3 is most people's favorite, but Season 2, with its sheer desperation, is mine.
John is quite on edge in MtB and it's only the beginning. He is the one threatening to hunt down Crais. He is the one who walks into Talyn and manages to kidnap Crais through sheer balls and disregard for safety. His hatred of Crais (understandably) is set in stone but John is getting edgier and more off-key even as early as here, and you can tell. I remember reading BB say that he played John as reaction too much to little things and not enough to big ones because torture messed him up and you can see that (and of course, later the writers incorporated this into their concept of the chip).
And yet, as early as this, you see that Aeryn is John's comfort and vice versa. When Aeryn is feeling disappointed about failing to get Talyn out of Crais' grasp, you see her and John sitting, comofortable, folded into each other, and he is playing with her hair, and the sheer peace, for both of them, of the gestures and the posture and the words, is immeasurable. John is stilled and Aeryn is at peace. It made me think of the scene in S4's Mental as Anything, where once again, Pilot's den is their peaceful place, under very different circumstances (I think Pilot is OK with it more because of Aeryn than of John).
And his and Aeryn's non-good-bye and damn Crais or anyone else who is watching, with interlaced hands, and the looks, and the not-saying-goodbye? I literally let out and audible noise.
And then we also have D'Argo and John bond (eeee!) and the sense of crew as family as we see Chiana's disbelief and joy when she sees it's really Crichton. Her delight is contageous and you get the sense of family reassembling when she jumps into John's arms (and what a different entrance onto Moya for John from S1: he comes in, hauling Crais, with a gun cocked). And Rygel's joy and the fact that Rygel and Chiana decided to stick with Moya no matter what.
And of course the layers and double crosses and the shadows of Crais and Scorpius.
I can't wait to rewatch what happens next.
I also watched second episode ofBoku Dake No Madonna
It's very odd for me to watch a drama without severe levels of angst or characters who are truly messed up (more a reflection on my viewing habits than doramas in general). But that is what I like about this, about Kyoichi (who the Girl nicknames Kyon and despite his denials it sticks). Kyon is a nice guy. He is well-adjusted, no dark past, no huge issues. He is a young, nice, refreshingly normal guy. Since I can tell he will end up with the Girl, it's rather awesome to have a drama where the well-adjusted boy wins love through being a good friend and being nice.
I really love the scenes after it turns out that the 'ex fiance' who the Girl is stalking is not only a decent guy who is a former graduate of the same college Kyon goes to, and someone who sort of takes Kyon under his wing, but he is not the Girl's fiance. Someone who used to tutor her, and a childhood friend, and someone who helped her through when she was suicidal and she loves him, but not her fiance.
Because you knw Kyon has fallen for the Girl but he can see she is crying, on the roof, and she tells him this, and the way he looks at her...And then he tells her he will do anything for her, if she needs anything (and it doesn't sound overblown or romance-novelly, just open. He is very open). And she asks him, what if this is yet another one of her lies and he replies that it doesn't matter, because there has to be some truth in all those lies.
And I die. And how in character that when she is startled, and she tells him that this is an amazing thing to say, he replies that this is something someone said to him.
And then she gets drunk and he gets her to his bed to sleep and I love his voice-over, that she probably lets down her guard around him so much because she doesn't see him as a man and you see him look quietly wistful and say that he finds it bitter. And then, he sees the half-dried tear on her cheek, and he very gently (and I love that he pauses) leans in and kisses it.
Oh, and I love that he is slowly growing spine and confidence and telling people a bit off. And scene of them in amusement park? Awesome.
I have also started Samurai Champloo. So far, I have only seen first episode, but it is LOVE. The anime is set in the Edo period (but with deliberate anachronisms) and follows the adventures of three very different individuals: Fuu, a girl who is looking for a samurai that smells like sunflowers (for unspecified reasons) and the two fighters she got to help and protect her (making them interrupt their own fight, as a payment for saving their lives earlier): a taciturn ronin Jin (who ismy favorite) and a wild Okinawan, Mugen. I really love the artwork: which is beautiful and fluid and reminds me a bit of Peacemaker Kurogane, and I have rarely loved characters as fast as I got into Fuu, Jin, and Mugen. I love the fights which are brutal and short and gorgeously animated (and I love that Mugen and Jin have very different fighting styles). And I love the pace, which was my one worry, as this is by TPTB who did Cowboy Beebop which is good but whose pace felt too leaisurely. Can't wait to watch more.
I have also finished the Snow Drop manga and am in squee overload. And will start on biography of Teddy Roosevelt now. Or maybe continue All This and Heaven Too, a novel based on the true story of the infamous Mademoiselle D (Henriette Duplessis), a 19th century governess in the troubled household of the Duc de Praslin, a minister of Louis XVIII, with whom the Duc fell in love and as a result murdered his wife and then killed himself. There was a gorgeous, passionate movie with Charles Boyer and Bette Davis in the 1940s about it.
Oh, and last night I dreamt about watching Hana Yori Dango 2. I guess I really am impatient for it.
And I close with the following hilarious article from the BBC:
S Koreans offered cash for no sex
Male workers who vow to stay away from prostitutes after year-end celebrations in South Korea are to be rewarded.
The Ministry for Gender Equality is offering cash to companies whose male employees pledge not to pay for sex after office parties.
Men are being urged to register on the ministry's website. The companies with most pledges will receive a reward.
Officials say they want to put an end to a culture in which men get drunk at parties and go on to buy sex.
But some critics have described the move as a waste of money.
Despite new anti-prostitution laws passed in 2004, the practice is said to be widespread in South Korea, with some estimates suggesting more than one million people work in the sex industry.
I really like this episode because it leads so beautifully into themes of S2: the ambiguity of Crais, the growing bond between John and Aeryn (and them being each other's solace), the bond between the crew, the shadow of Scorpius and John's unbalance transforming into insanity. I know S3 is most people's favorite, but Season 2, with its sheer desperation, is mine.
John is quite on edge in MtB and it's only the beginning. He is the one threatening to hunt down Crais. He is the one who walks into Talyn and manages to kidnap Crais through sheer balls and disregard for safety. His hatred of Crais (understandably) is set in stone but John is getting edgier and more off-key even as early as here, and you can tell. I remember reading BB say that he played John as reaction too much to little things and not enough to big ones because torture messed him up and you can see that (and of course, later the writers incorporated this into their concept of the chip).
And yet, as early as this, you see that Aeryn is John's comfort and vice versa. When Aeryn is feeling disappointed about failing to get Talyn out of Crais' grasp, you see her and John sitting, comofortable, folded into each other, and he is playing with her hair, and the sheer peace, for both of them, of the gestures and the posture and the words, is immeasurable. John is stilled and Aeryn is at peace. It made me think of the scene in S4's Mental as Anything, where once again, Pilot's den is their peaceful place, under very different circumstances (I think Pilot is OK with it more because of Aeryn than of John).
And his and Aeryn's non-good-bye and damn Crais or anyone else who is watching, with interlaced hands, and the looks, and the not-saying-goodbye? I literally let out and audible noise.
And then we also have D'Argo and John bond (eeee!) and the sense of crew as family as we see Chiana's disbelief and joy when she sees it's really Crichton. Her delight is contageous and you get the sense of family reassembling when she jumps into John's arms (and what a different entrance onto Moya for John from S1: he comes in, hauling Crais, with a gun cocked). And Rygel's joy and the fact that Rygel and Chiana decided to stick with Moya no matter what.
And of course the layers and double crosses and the shadows of Crais and Scorpius.
I can't wait to rewatch what happens next.
I also watched second episode ofBoku Dake No Madonna
It's very odd for me to watch a drama without severe levels of angst or characters who are truly messed up (more a reflection on my viewing habits than doramas in general). But that is what I like about this, about Kyoichi (who the Girl nicknames Kyon and despite his denials it sticks). Kyon is a nice guy. He is well-adjusted, no dark past, no huge issues. He is a young, nice, refreshingly normal guy. Since I can tell he will end up with the Girl, it's rather awesome to have a drama where the well-adjusted boy wins love through being a good friend and being nice.
I really love the scenes after it turns out that the 'ex fiance' who the Girl is stalking is not only a decent guy who is a former graduate of the same college Kyon goes to, and someone who sort of takes Kyon under his wing, but he is not the Girl's fiance. Someone who used to tutor her, and a childhood friend, and someone who helped her through when she was suicidal and she loves him, but not her fiance.
Because you knw Kyon has fallen for the Girl but he can see she is crying, on the roof, and she tells him this, and the way he looks at her...And then he tells her he will do anything for her, if she needs anything (and it doesn't sound overblown or romance-novelly, just open. He is very open). And she asks him, what if this is yet another one of her lies and he replies that it doesn't matter, because there has to be some truth in all those lies.
And I die. And how in character that when she is startled, and she tells him that this is an amazing thing to say, he replies that this is something someone said to him.
And then she gets drunk and he gets her to his bed to sleep and I love his voice-over, that she probably lets down her guard around him so much because she doesn't see him as a man and you see him look quietly wistful and say that he finds it bitter. And then, he sees the half-dried tear on her cheek, and he very gently (and I love that he pauses) leans in and kisses it.
Oh, and I love that he is slowly growing spine and confidence and telling people a bit off. And scene of them in amusement park? Awesome.
I have also started Samurai Champloo. So far, I have only seen first episode, but it is LOVE. The anime is set in the Edo period (but with deliberate anachronisms) and follows the adventures of three very different individuals: Fuu, a girl who is looking for a samurai that smells like sunflowers (for unspecified reasons) and the two fighters she got to help and protect her (making them interrupt their own fight, as a payment for saving their lives earlier): a taciturn ronin Jin (who ismy favorite) and a wild Okinawan, Mugen. I really love the artwork: which is beautiful and fluid and reminds me a bit of Peacemaker Kurogane, and I have rarely loved characters as fast as I got into Fuu, Jin, and Mugen. I love the fights which are brutal and short and gorgeously animated (and I love that Mugen and Jin have very different fighting styles). And I love the pace, which was my one worry, as this is by TPTB who did Cowboy Beebop which is good but whose pace felt too leaisurely. Can't wait to watch more.
I have also finished the Snow Drop manga and am in squee overload. And will start on biography of Teddy Roosevelt now. Or maybe continue All This and Heaven Too, a novel based on the true story of the infamous Mademoiselle D (Henriette Duplessis), a 19th century governess in the troubled household of the Duc de Praslin, a minister of Louis XVIII, with whom the Duc fell in love and as a result murdered his wife and then killed himself. There was a gorgeous, passionate movie with Charles Boyer and Bette Davis in the 1940s about it.
Oh, and last night I dreamt about watching Hana Yori Dango 2. I guess I really am impatient for it.
And I close with the following hilarious article from the BBC:
S Koreans offered cash for no sex
Male workers who vow to stay away from prostitutes after year-end celebrations in South Korea are to be rewarded.
The Ministry for Gender Equality is offering cash to companies whose male employees pledge not to pay for sex after office parties.
Men are being urged to register on the ministry's website. The companies with most pledges will receive a reward.
Officials say they want to put an end to a culture in which men get drunk at parties and go on to buy sex.
But some critics have described the move as a waste of money.
Despite new anti-prostitution laws passed in 2004, the practice is said to be widespread in South Korea, with some estimates suggesting more than one million people work in the sex industry.