Happy Things
Things Wot are making me ridiculously happy recently:
Lazarus Rising
There were some problems here: the bizarre remake of Women's Work at the beginning ("Previous on Supernatural: Sam and Dean ruthlessly slaughtered a whole lot of women. And a black man. Aren't they awesome?") and the "slap her around a lot, call her a bitch, and drop some cash on the dresser on the way out" Scene of Utter Fail (and, really writers, are you trying to make your core constituency hate Dean Winchester? It won't work. I refuse to hate my third or fourth favorite fictional character just because you are misogynistic assholes. No matter how badly you write, you can't take him away from me). Also the Plot Hole of Idiocy (you have the name Castiel, and don't even Google it before you try to summon him?). But all that aside, this episode kicked about 59 kinds of ass.
I could squee and flail and capslock forever, but you all have already heard all that. So I will say: I LOVE the way this show has done angels. I love the casting of Castiel, and if he isn't a recurring I will CRY. I love his word choice of 'Perdition,' though I wish he had called himself a messenger rather than an angel. Most of all, I adore how much more frightening angels are than devils- because while the Janitor-YED was scary as fuck, and many of their demons have been satisfyingly creepy, the demons have also tended to seem rather cutesy, with the flirting and slinky-seductress act and smartass dialog. Castiel is so much more, so much bigger and more frightening and more powerful and more Other, than any demon we've seen.
If the angel had been all fluffy white wings and kind words and healing golden light, I think I would have just turned the TV off. But, in fictions that do a good versus evil mytharc, I really love this type of dynamic; where evil forces are very present and interfere and meddle and try to control humans and gain power, and where the work of fighting evil is not done by equally petty supernatural good creatures, but by humans, with human motivations and human failings and human morality. I like that good is so much more powerful than evil but also so very distant, so unwilling to intervene- it says things about human responsibility and free will that are very important to me in a belief system.
Along the same lines, I love that Dean isn't Special or Chosen or born of angel blood or psychic or any such crap; that's always been fundamental to his character for me, and it's how I prefer my heroes to be (A main reason I stopped reading fantasy. Can I please have a protagonist who WASN'T prophecied before he was born? PLEASE?). Dean is an ordinary human who has made extraordinary choices and done extraordinary things, and has been chosen to be saved and used as an avatar because he made those choices freely. That's how it is in my head. If the writers tell me Dean is somehow Special too, I will throw things.
Tracker
Did anybody else laugh at the final, "what are your intentions" scene? It seemed like such a revelation to Rodney, the idea that Keller will chose who she choses and fighting over her is kind of ridiculous. I kind of love both Ronon and Rodney and the writers for that. Also for the scene of Rodney primping in front of the mirror and being all proud of his buff physique... and then realizing he's going up against Ronon. Oh, Rodney. Way to be hopelessly outdone.
Also, Rodney screaming for Ronon to save him! And the bit where they're on the ground under the Spiky Log of Doom, and Ronon is all laughing and, "Awesome! I love this guy!" Oh, Ronon.
Transparently jealous pining!John! That is all.
Yes, Keller got kidnapped in the woods. But she got kidnapped because she's a doctor, which mostly redeems it for me.
No Woolsey. Boo.
The first issue of the OTW's academic journal. Good stuff there, especially the bit about Star Trek vidding- fascinating.
After getting a feel for the market here, I just upped my tutoring rate by five bucks an hour. This means, taking into account all the unpaid running-your-own-business hours, I'm making just about $20 an hour. $20 times 30 hours a week equals the most money I have ever made, and this job is much more enjoyable and fewer hours. SCORE. (Yes, feel free to do that rather pathetic math. I don't mind) Granted, the work isn't consistent, but still.
The weather! It has been below 80 most of the time, and gone as low as 60 at night. I have had my AC turned off as much as half the time. At night, it's been cool enough to open the windows and sleep under a cozy blanket in a naturally cool, crisp room (my favorite way to sleep. As opposed to under just a sheet in an icky artificially cooled room). I am wearing my cute heavier pants without dying, and have actually gone outside to take walks, voluntarily, the first time I have voluntarily been outdoors anywhere other than a swimming pool since I moved to Texas.
My new student, who I was afraid I was going to hate, because his emails were abrupt and inarticulate and capslocky and read as very rude to me (I was going to give him one shot and then tell him I couldn't keep him on as a student) turned out to actually be a wonderfully nice, polite older man whose email trouble obviously comes from discomfort with computers and not actually being an asshole. Also, he managed to have a two-hour lesson with a 22 year old female without once giving off a misogynistic vibe or trying to Explain Things To Me to re-establish the power dynamic. Not unheard of, but rare enough in older male students that it makes me happy.
When I do a load of laundry and forget to empty the water tank first, it turns out that my shower drain backs up and floods my whole bathroom. Yes, this makes me happy, because when I first saw the water I was sure my washing machine was broken. And it's not. *dances*
Lazarus Rising
There were some problems here: the bizarre remake of Women's Work at the beginning ("Previous on Supernatural: Sam and Dean ruthlessly slaughtered a whole lot of women. And a black man. Aren't they awesome?") and the "slap her around a lot, call her a bitch, and drop some cash on the dresser on the way out" Scene of Utter Fail (and, really writers, are you trying to make your core constituency hate Dean Winchester? It won't work. I refuse to hate my third or fourth favorite fictional character just because you are misogynistic assholes. No matter how badly you write, you can't take him away from me). Also the Plot Hole of Idiocy (you have the name Castiel, and don't even Google it before you try to summon him?). But all that aside, this episode kicked about 59 kinds of ass.
I could squee and flail and capslock forever, but you all have already heard all that. So I will say: I LOVE the way this show has done angels. I love the casting of Castiel, and if he isn't a recurring I will CRY. I love his word choice of 'Perdition,' though I wish he had called himself a messenger rather than an angel. Most of all, I adore how much more frightening angels are than devils- because while the Janitor-YED was scary as fuck, and many of their demons have been satisfyingly creepy, the demons have also tended to seem rather cutesy, with the flirting and slinky-seductress act and smartass dialog. Castiel is so much more, so much bigger and more frightening and more powerful and more Other, than any demon we've seen.
If the angel had been all fluffy white wings and kind words and healing golden light, I think I would have just turned the TV off. But, in fictions that do a good versus evil mytharc, I really love this type of dynamic; where evil forces are very present and interfere and meddle and try to control humans and gain power, and where the work of fighting evil is not done by equally petty supernatural good creatures, but by humans, with human motivations and human failings and human morality. I like that good is so much more powerful than evil but also so very distant, so unwilling to intervene- it says things about human responsibility and free will that are very important to me in a belief system.
Along the same lines, I love that Dean isn't Special or Chosen or born of angel blood or psychic or any such crap; that's always been fundamental to his character for me, and it's how I prefer my heroes to be (A main reason I stopped reading fantasy. Can I please have a protagonist who WASN'T prophecied before he was born? PLEASE?). Dean is an ordinary human who has made extraordinary choices and done extraordinary things, and has been chosen to be saved and used as an avatar because he made those choices freely. That's how it is in my head. If the writers tell me Dean is somehow Special too, I will throw things.
Tracker
Did anybody else laugh at the final, "what are your intentions" scene? It seemed like such a revelation to Rodney, the idea that Keller will chose who she choses and fighting over her is kind of ridiculous. I kind of love both Ronon and Rodney and the writers for that. Also for the scene of Rodney primping in front of the mirror and being all proud of his buff physique... and then realizing he's going up against Ronon. Oh, Rodney. Way to be hopelessly outdone.
Also, Rodney screaming for Ronon to save him! And the bit where they're on the ground under the Spiky Log of Doom, and Ronon is all laughing and, "Awesome! I love this guy!" Oh, Ronon.
Transparently jealous pining!John! That is all.
Yes, Keller got kidnapped in the woods. But she got kidnapped because she's a doctor, which mostly redeems it for me.
No Woolsey. Boo.
The first issue of the OTW's academic journal. Good stuff there, especially the bit about Star Trek vidding- fascinating.
After getting a feel for the market here, I just upped my tutoring rate by five bucks an hour. This means, taking into account all the unpaid running-your-own-business hours, I'm making just about $20 an hour. $20 times 30 hours a week equals the most money I have ever made, and this job is much more enjoyable and fewer hours. SCORE. (Yes, feel free to do that rather pathetic math. I don't mind) Granted, the work isn't consistent, but still.
The weather! It has been below 80 most of the time, and gone as low as 60 at night. I have had my AC turned off as much as half the time. At night, it's been cool enough to open the windows and sleep under a cozy blanket in a naturally cool, crisp room (my favorite way to sleep. As opposed to under just a sheet in an icky artificially cooled room). I am wearing my cute heavier pants without dying, and have actually gone outside to take walks, voluntarily, the first time I have voluntarily been outdoors anywhere other than a swimming pool since I moved to Texas.
My new student, who I was afraid I was going to hate, because his emails were abrupt and inarticulate and capslocky and read as very rude to me (I was going to give him one shot and then tell him I couldn't keep him on as a student) turned out to actually be a wonderfully nice, polite older man whose email trouble obviously comes from discomfort with computers and not actually being an asshole. Also, he managed to have a two-hour lesson with a 22 year old female without once giving off a misogynistic vibe or trying to Explain Things To Me to re-establish the power dynamic. Not unheard of, but rare enough in older male students that it makes me happy.
When I do a load of laundry and forget to empty the water tank first, it turns out that my shower drain backs up and floods my whole bathroom. Yes, this makes me happy, because when I first saw the water I was sure my washing machine was broken. And it's not. *dances*