still alive! (no, really)
I've really not been doing well with the whole journal thing lately. (An update a month, on average? Oh dear.) Work has more or less taken over my life this month, at least. Had the chance to catch up this weekend, and ended up doing... practically nothing useful. Hmm.
Did skim-read through Destiny's Way for a fic, and wow, I'd forgotten (or possibly repressed) how boring NJO could be, with all of the clumsy attempts at political intrigue. And Luke's epic case of unwise leadership goes back well before LotF, doesn't it? And Mara's... kind of just there. *sigh* On the other hand, it was nice to see Jacen back when he was still Jacen. Evidently I'm still struggling with how much the EU has disenfranchised me with the characters I used to care about, because... oh, Luke, you're so much better than this.
(One day soon, I'm going to be able to write Beyond-era fic again that doesn't unravel to me excising my frustration with the characters all being callous, arrogant, morally corrupt morons bereft of self-awareness. ONE DAY. Not that I'm bitter or anything.)
Have been watching Life on Mars in the last couple of weeks (the original UK version, of course), and I was a tad doubtful about the series at first, about whether it could live up to the hype, but wow. Its brevity (16 episodes over two series) works in its favour, I think. It's a stunningly made show: concept, execution, acting, costume, cinematography, everything. It's not exactly easy -- it doesn't shy away from the unpleasant aspects of what it's depicting (hi, 1973, in all your sexist, racist, homophobic glory!), the characters are deeply flawed, and it raises (and leaves) some ambiguous questions that are distinctly discomforting -- but it's a fascinating piece of television. I'm still working on absorbing some of the themes, especially in the finale. Which was good, in a horribly gut-wrenching way that was wholly unconventional. And I'm still trying to figure out if it was meant to be so, or... argh. Be warned, this show has something of a brain-bending effect if you're not careful.
Oh, and John Simms? Is amazing. He and Philip Glenister are just incredible, individually and in the working chemistry they bring as leads. They make the show, in so many ways.
(Okay, done with the gushing. Back to pondering the finale for another month or so, I think.)
(Oh, but, also! The music is excellent as well. Best use of music as a part of the narrative, both within and external to the story, I've seen in a show.)
Did skim-read through Destiny's Way for a fic, and wow, I'd forgotten (or possibly repressed) how boring NJO could be, with all of the clumsy attempts at political intrigue. And Luke's epic case of unwise leadership goes back well before LotF, doesn't it? And Mara's... kind of just there. *sigh* On the other hand, it was nice to see Jacen back when he was still Jacen. Evidently I'm still struggling with how much the EU has disenfranchised me with the characters I used to care about, because... oh, Luke, you're so much better than this.
(One day soon, I'm going to be able to write Beyond-era fic again that doesn't unravel to me excising my frustration with the characters all being callous, arrogant, morally corrupt morons bereft of self-awareness. ONE DAY. Not that I'm bitter or anything.)
Have been watching Life on Mars in the last couple of weeks (the original UK version, of course), and I was a tad doubtful about the series at first, about whether it could live up to the hype, but wow. Its brevity (16 episodes over two series) works in its favour, I think. It's a stunningly made show: concept, execution, acting, costume, cinematography, everything. It's not exactly easy -- it doesn't shy away from the unpleasant aspects of what it's depicting (hi, 1973, in all your sexist, racist, homophobic glory!), the characters are deeply flawed, and it raises (and leaves) some ambiguous questions that are distinctly discomforting -- but it's a fascinating piece of television. I'm still working on absorbing some of the themes, especially in the finale. Which was good, in a horribly gut-wrenching way that was wholly unconventional. And I'm still trying to figure out if it was meant to be so, or... argh. Be warned, this show has something of a brain-bending effect if you're not careful.
Oh, and John Simms? Is amazing. He and Philip Glenister are just incredible, individually and in the working chemistry they bring as leads. They make the show, in so many ways.
(Okay, done with the gushing. Back to pondering the finale for another month or so, I think.)
(Oh, but, also! The music is excellent as well. Best use of music as a part of the narrative, both within and external to the story, I've seen in a show.)